Great Players Are Allowed To Fail Once Or Twice - David Warner Backs Virat Kohli To Come Good

Australia opener David Warner has come in support of struggling Indian captain Virat Kohli saying that he will come good and that great players are allowed to fail now and then. David Warner showered praises on India’s current test captain Virat Kohli and Australian test vice-captain Steve Smith.

Virat Kohli is under a lot of pressure as despite scoring half-centuries, the right-hander has not been able to convert a single one of them into triple figures in international cricket- be it T20Is, ODIs, or Tests, since 2019. His last century came in a Test match in Kolkata in November 2019 against Bangladesh and since then, there has been a long wait for his 71^st international ton.

“We have to understand Kohli’s situation too. The guy has been playing under a bubble for a long time. He has just become a father and rarely gets to see his daughter and wife. All these factors affect performance of the players. Even the best fail to cope up with tough situations sometimes,” Warner said in a candid interview with journalist Boria Majumdar.

Kohli, who missed the Johannesburg Test due to a back spasm, had India to the victory in the first Test at Centurion against South Africa and is expected to return to the XI for the third and final match at Cape Town in what will be his 99^th Test match.

“If You Are Going To Drop A Captain And Then Not Pick Him In The Team, What Message Does That Send To The Rest Of The Group?: David Warner On Being Dropped Unceremoniously By SRH During IPL 2021

Furthermore, Warner blasted his former Indian Premier League (IPL) team Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the way they treated him during the IPL 2021. SRH dropped Warner as captain midway in the first half of the IPL 2021 in India and then dropped him from the playing XI as well, making Kane Williamson the captain of the team.

“If you are going to drop a captain and then not pick him in the team after what he has done, what message does that send to the young kids in the team? What message does that send to the rest of the group? What hurt me the most is that the other guys are now thinking, ‘oh, this could happen to me’,” said Warner on the chat show Backstage with Boria.

“At the end of the day, whatever happens, cop it cop it on the chin. If you want to have those conversations, just have them. It’s not hard. Don’t shy away from them. I am not going to bite. I am going to sit here and accept that for what it is because you are not picking me in the team,” he further added.

Warner led SRH in the first six games of the season before being sacked from captaincy for leading them to just one win.

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