IPL 2023: "I will be blown away if he doesn't set the tournament alight," Shane Watson on David Warner

Delhi Capitals captain David Warner is the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2023, but on a contrasting note, his team has failed to register a single win so far. The team's assistant coach and Warner's former teammate, Shane Watson, has come to his aid, saying he'd be blown away if David doesn't set the tournament alight with his performance going ahead.

Speaking on the Grade Cricketer's podcast, Watson said even though Warner slammed his bat in frustration after completing his 43-ball fifty against Mumbai Indians the other night, he still played with a fearless approach.

"The other night, Dave [Warner] definitely had a [much] more fearless mindset with the way he was batting. He was taking the game on… yes, he missed a few balls that in the past he would have hit for four or six, he's mis-hit a couple of balls, but that's all part of Dave just working through the technical side of his game," Watson said.

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Watson added that having played alongside Warner for years helps him understand what David's style of play isand what all areas are there that need improvement. The former IPL winner with Chennai Super Kings, Watson said, looking at how nicely Warner has played so far, he will set the tournament on fire.

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"That's also part of my role as well, as a coach. Because I know Dave so well from batting with him and playing with him, there's one or two little things that I know he'll get right over the next couple of days, and I'll be blown away if he doesn't - yes, he's been scoring runs, but from a scoring perspective - if he doesn't set the IPL alight from now on, knowing that he's so close.

"He's batting very nicely. He's just mis-hitting some balls that he'd normally hit for four or six. Once you do that, once you start really finding the middle of your bat, then your scoring rate just goes through the roof," Watson added.

Watson elaborated on how David is fighting with different situations in the middle, playing through the innings even when wickets keep falling regularly.

"Warner had been working through" a 'challenging inner battle' in the first three games of the season, grappling with whether or not to take risks as wickets fell at the other end. It goes against a lot of the things that you're taught as a kid growing up," Watson said. "You lose a wicket, you've got to establish a partnership - even in T20 cricket - for five or six balls.

"But then, if you do that and you keep losing wickets after five or six balls before you know it, you're three overs down, and you've just been rotating ones to try and build a partnership. Dave was just working through that himself in the first few games," the former right-handed batter said.

Meanwhile, during the game against Rajasthan Royals, Warner completed 6000 IPL runs, and Watson feels David, over the past many years, has been a top performer in the league.

"His strike rate across his career in the IPL is nearly 140. He's been a great player in the IPL for a long period," Watson on Warner.

Delhi will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 15th in an afternoon game.