Lee feels David Warner was 'harshly dealt' with by SRH, backs him to do well in T20 WC

After receiving harsh treatment at his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee has backed David Warner to do well for his country in the ICC T20 World Cup. Lee said that the Australian World Cup squad is filled with a lot of talents but for him, David Warner is the key to the team's success. Lee said the treatment that Warner received at SRH during the recently-concluded IPL season may have knocked some confidence out of the explosive batter, adding "but he thrives on the big stage". 

"But this Australian side is loaded with talent and for me, the key is David Warner. I would like to say he is saving the runs for the games that count after his IPL form! He was really harshly dealt with there and it may have knocked some confidence out of him but he thrives on the big stage. Everything should be rosy for him here, class is permanent," Brett Lee wrote in his column for the ICC. 

David Warner removed as SRH captain

Warner was removed as SRH captain earlier this year and then was even dropped from the playing XI on two separate instances. Warner was never included back in the starting XI and was seen watching the last few matches of his side from the stands. The shocking move by SRH management received widespread condemnation as Warner had been their top performer with the bat for the past several seasons. 

Warner can easily be dubbed as the best batter to have 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). Despite his impeccable record with the bat, Warner was replaced as captain and then dropped from the playing XI after only a couple of poor games at the start of IPL 2021 in April. 

David Warner's form

Warner, however, has failed to regain his form with the bat as he was dismissed for single-digit scores in Australia's two warm-up games before the World Cup. The Australian batter was dismissed for a duck against England in the first warm-up match and then was removed by India's Ravichandran Ashwin for 1 off 7 in the second warm-up game. It will be interesting to see if Warner is able to regain his form and do wonders for Australia in the World Cup. 

Image: PTI