IPL 2021: Steyn says 'something happening behind closed doors' as SRH sacks captain Warner

Former South African pacer Dale Steyn feels that not everything is right in the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) camp after they sacked their star skipper David Warner. Steyn, while speaking to ESPNcricinfo, said that everything might not be well between the team management and David Warner, who was removed as the captain of the side last week ahead of their match against Rajasthan Royals (RR). It's not just that Warner was replaced as the captain, he was also dropped from the playing XI, which led to several speculations on what exactly could have gone wrong apart from losing the first few matches in IPL 2021. 

'There's something people are not aware of'

Steyn highlighted that when Manish Pandey was left out of the playing XI during their Chennai leg, Warner had blamed the team management for the decision, saying it was the selectors who decided to leave him out of the match. Steyn said that Warner was the captain of the side and captains play an important role in deciding the final XI for the next match. Steyn added that Warner not taking ownership for the decision indicates that "there's definitely something happening behind the closed doors that people are not aware of". The former Protea pacer went on to speculate that this may be the last time we are seeing David Warner in the orange shirt.

Warner has been a very successful player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he is one of the top run-scorers in the cash-rich tournament's history. Warner has scored more runs than any other international player in the IPL. Warner was also the captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 when the franchise won its maiden IPL title. But the Australian batting powerhouse was sacked and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was made captain for the remainder of the season and maybe for the coming seasons as well. The decision did not go down well with fans, who rallied behind Warner on social media. Warner was seen doing the duties of the 12th man in yesterday's game against Rajasthan. 

SRH's Director of Cricket Operations Tom Moody said that the decision to replace Warner was a very hard call, but had to be taken. Moody said that Warner was "shocked" and "disappointed" after hearing the news but later came to terms with it as he found the logic behind his exclusion from the playing XI. Moody said they wanted to try a different combination for their upcoming matches, which left them with no other option but to exclude Warner because other internationals were in great form. SRH lost the match by 55 runs as Rajasthan batsman Jos Buttler put up a great show to help his team post a mammoth total of 220 runs. SRH still sits at the bottom of the points table with just one win in 7 matches so far in IPL 2021. 

(Image Credit: PTI/AP)