IPL 2021: Sunrisers Hyderabad fans pen open letter to management on Warner's ouster

Fans of Australian cricketer David Warner have sent an open letter to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) management, expressing their displeasure at his dismissal as captain and subsequent exclusion from the playing XI. The letter was circulated on social media, with supporters urging the SRH owners to retain Warner for the 2022 IPL season. On Twitter, users are using the hashtag #NoWarnerNoSRH to demonstrate their support for the Australian talisman, implying that if Warner is dropped from the club next season, they will quit supporting the team.

"The one reason that makes us the proudest as fans of Sunrisers Hyderabad is a talisman named David Warner from Australia. It will be a lie if one says he isn't the best batsman to have played for Sunrisers. Warner has gained massive respect and admiration from the Sunrisers Hyderabad fanbase. Whatever the reason may be, we the fans of Sunrisers Hyderabad want the retention of David Warner. We desperately hope that things get sorted out soon. We want to see Warner go all guns blazing in the Sunrisers Hyderabad jersey again," SRH fans wrote in their letter. 

Warner has amassed more than 4,000 runs for SRH, since joining the squad in 2014. Under his captaincy, SRH won their maiden IPL title in 2016, where Warner amassed a total of 848 runs from 17 matches. Although this is the first time ever in his seven seasons for the club that Warner has scored less than 500 runs in IPL, the SRH management decided to drop him from the playing XI after only a couple of poor games. However, experts believe that there is more to the story than Warner's poor form in IPL 2021.

Warner can easily be dubbed as the best batter to ever played in the Indian Premier League since its inception in 2008. Warner is amongst the all-time highest run-scorers in IPL with 5,449 runs to his name. Only four batters have scored more runs in the IPL than Warner; and all of them are Indians - Virat Kohli (6,283), Shikhar Dhawan (5,748), Rohit Sharma (5,611), and Suresh Raina (5,528). However, Warner boasts the best average amongst the all-time top-10 highest run-scorers in IPL. 

Image: @vipulr319/Twitter/PTI