Clear cut signal to David Warner, Sunrisers are looking beyond him: Irfan Pathan makes bold claim on SRH star's future

David Warner was left out from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)'s playing XI against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Monday. His exclusion came as a surprise to many as the left-hander continues to struggle to cement his spot in the playing XI after being sacked from captaincy earlier this season.

Warner, who has been one of the most consistent run-getters in the league over the years, was sacked from captaincy midway through the IPL 2021 season. He was asked to step down after SRH managed only one win in their first six games of the season with Kane Williamson taking over as captain.

However, the decision to sack Warner didn't work quite well in SRH's favour as Williamson & Co. have managed only two wins so far in ten games and are all but out of the race for playoffs. Warner was part of SRH's playing XI in their first two games of the UAE leg where he managed to score 0 and 2 before being dropped on Monday. 

Former India pacer Irfan Pathan shared his thoughts on Warner's situation at SRH and said the franchise has sent a clear-cut signal to the Australian batsman about his future. Pathan feels it's the end of Warner at SRH and that the franchise has already started looking beyond him to plan for the future.

“Sunrisers are looking for the future, isn’t it? It’s a clear-cut signal to David Warner as well, that we are looking beyond you. It’s a very simple thing,” Pathan said on Star Sports.

Also Read: Warner drops a bomb regarding his future with SRH after being left out of playing XI vs RR

“He was the captain – the start of the season. Then, they dropped him from the team and the captaincy. Then they brought him back after the break, and then they again dropped him. That means they are looking ahead. Priyam Garg came in, Abhishek Sharma came in. They just want to try out their best players who might be playing in the future for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Whatever I saw today, quite a few positives for Sunrisers Hyderabad,” he added.

Warner has so far played 150 matches in his IPL career and is one of the leading run-getters of all time with 5449 runs to his name at an impressive average of over 41. He remains the only captain to have led SRH to an IPL title but his time at the franchise seems to be coming to an end now.

Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to win the game against RR by seven wickets on Sunday after successfully chasing down the target of 165 runs with 9 balls to spare. In the absence of Warner, his replacement Jason Roy slammed a cracking 60 off 42 balls while skipper Williamson scored an unbeaten 51 off 41 balls to help SRH secure their second win of the season.