Shocking And Absurd: Murali Karthik Lambasts SunRisers Hyderabad For Sacking And Dropping David Warner

Former Indian left-arm spinner-turned commentator, Murali Karthik has termed SunRisers Hyderabad’s decision to first sack captain David Warner and then drop him from the playing 11 for the fixture against Rajasthan Royals as ‘downright shocking’ and ‘absurd’.

The entire cricketing community was jolted on Saturday, May 01, when SunRisers Hyderabad issued a pre-release where they revealed that David Warner has been sacked as captain and that Kane Williamson will take over the role with immediate effect.

SunRisers Hyderabad’s decision came after the franchise succumbed to their fifth loss in six games under Warner.

David Warner’s painstaking 55-ball 57 against the Chennai Super Kings paved way for the defeat, which the southpaw took full responsibility for in the post-match presentation.

But the sacking of David Warner did not make much sense, as Murali Karthik pointed out in his tweet, given the fact that the southpaw had led SRH to their only title in 2016 besides leading them to playoffs in every season.

If removing him from leadership wasn’t enough, David Warner was then dropped from the playing 11 as SRH went in with the all-round skills of Mohammed Nabi.

The move backfired as Nabi bowled just one over against Rajasthan Royals in which he was taken for 21 runs by Jos Buttler besides managing 17 off 5 balls with the bat as the ‘Orange Army’ succumbed to a 55-run defeat.

Following Warner’s snub as captain and as a member of the playing 11, renowned cricket journalist Melinda Farrell asked her fans on Twitter whether the move by SRH was good, bad, or ridiculous.

“Replacing Warner: good, bad or ridiculous decision? #goodbadridiculous #IPL2021” wrote Melinda Farrell.

To which Karthik replied-

“Mel..firstly replacing him was downright shocking/absurd, but u know what was the icing on the cake” he doesn’t fit in to the Team combination “..Seriously,suddenly,woww ur best player,one of ipl’s best suddenly doesn’t fit into ur team after having played so many yrs&2days ago”

Mel..firstly replacing him was downright shocking/absurd, but u know what was the icing on the cake" he doesn't fit in to the Team combination "..Seriously,suddenly,woww ur best player,one of ipl's best suddenly doesn't fit into ur team after having played so many yrs&2days ago https://t.co/2GFMyefT0m

— Kartik Murali (@kartikmurali) May 3, 2021

“So basically saying that the ones watching are in kindergarten and we don’t understand..seriously since when did Warner not fit into the te combo.. Who is replacing him Sirsachin/ Lara, sir Garfield, sir Viv #IPL2021” added Murali Karthik.

2/2.. So basically saying that the ones watching are in kindergarten and we don't understand..seriously since when did Warner not fit into the te combo.. Who is replacing him sachin/ Lara, sir Garfield, sir Viv #IPL2021 https://t.co/2GFMyefT0m

— Kartik Murali (@kartikmurali) May 3, 2021

Not only Murali Karthik but almost everyone has been taken aback by SRH’s decision to drop David Warner from the playing 11.

Yes, Warner has had a lean season by his standards where his strike rate has been pretty low (110) but this is only the first season since 2014 where David Warner has failed to light up the IPL.

The southpaw, who won the Orange Cap in 2017 and 2019, is the leading run-scorer in IPL since 2014 despite having missed out on an entire season in 2018.

Also Read: IPL 2021: I’m Actually Shocked That David Warner Was Not Included In The XI – Brett Lee