"Just madness" - Shane Watson on SunRisers Hyderabad axing David Warner in IPL 2021 due to a few low scores

Delhi Capitals' assistant coach Shane Watson hit out at SunRisers Hyderabad for dropping David Warner based on a poor run of three to four games. Ahead of Warner's captaincy stint with the Capitals in IPL 2023, Watson has no doubt the veteran will do a great job as a leader.

Warner struggled to get going in IPL 2021 for SunRisers Hyderabad and the management decided to ax him from the playing eleven, appointing Kane Williamson as captain. The veteran played only two matches in the UAE leg of the season before management left him out for Jason Roy. Ahead of the 2022 edition, the franchise released the opener.

Speaking to Sportstar, Watson felt a handful of low-scoring games for Warner do not erase his legacy in the IPL and hailed him as a great tactician.

"There is no doubt that Dave being the leader will give him that extra bit of inspiration to stand up for his team and dominate like he has. Dave has always performed incredibly well in the IPL. There might have been three or four games with Sunrisers Hyderabad when he didn’t score runs and he got dropped, which was just madness. Last season he batted incredibly well for Delhi. He is a great leader. Tactically, he is very good. He is a great man manager, so he is going to do a brilliant job for Delhi Capitals."

When asked about the left-hander's future in Test cricket, especially with Travis Head doing well in India, the 43-year-old thinks he deserves to go out on his terms.

"It’s an interesting time for David Warner in Test cricket. He scored an incredible hundred at the MCG on Boxing Day, that was an amazing double-hundred. It is entirely up to him if he wants to continue to push his case in Test cricket and get back to his consistent best. He deserves the right to be able to make his own decisions. Obviously, Travis Head has done a brilliant job opening the batting in Indian conditions, where the ball is not swinging and seaming that much."

The New South Wales opener has struggled in Test cricket for a while now and looked out-of-sorts on the recent India tour. He returned home after the first two Tests due to injuries, prompting Travis Head to open the innings. Head averaged 55.75 in five innings as an opener.

"The Aussies will be firing and ready to go and try and take the English down" - Shane Watson

Shane Watson. (Image Credits: Getty)

Looking ahead to the 2023 Ashes series in England, Watson outlined how hard it is to win on English soil. He is also keen to see how the hosts tackle Australia's gun bowling unit. He said:

"The World Test Championship final is a huge game but there is no question – the Ashes is the holy grail. To be able to win an Ashes series away is so hard to do. The Aussies will be firing and ready to go and try and take the English down. But England is playing incredible cricket. There is something happening every single ball. It will be interesting how they come up against our bowling attack in particular."

The 2023 Ashes series begins at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 16.