(Reuters) – Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner has cut a frustrated figure during the Indian Premier League despite notching three fifties in four games and former Australia pacer Shaun Tait says the batting anchor is itching to rediscover his swashbuckling style.
Warner is second in the batting charts with 209 runs from four games behind Punjab Kings batter Shikhar Dhawan (225), who has played a match less, but it is the Australian’s strike rate of 114.83 that has raised eyebrows.
Dhawan’s strike rate is 149 and Warner’s figure is the lowest of the top nine batters.
After scoring 56 off 48 balls against Lucknow Super Giants, Warner made 37 off 32 against Gujarat Titans, 65 off 55 against Rajasthan Royals and 51 off 47 in Tuesday’s six-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians.
“You can quite clearly see on his face and his reactions after shots or missed shots, that he’s pretty frustrated as well,” Tait told cricket website ESPNCricinfo.
“The only reason that’s acceptable is because other guys around him have been pretty poor as well. Because he’s such a great player, he manages to score and lead the runs.
“With David getting towards the end of his career, maybe that’s the thing. With such a great player, a legend of the game, you expect him to come out of that and go back to something we’re used to.”
Tait said there was a lot of “shanking” and several mishits from Warner, 36, against Mumbai as Delhi crashed to a fourth straight defeat to sit bottom of the IPL.
“He was trying in the first couple of overs, but it wasn’t coming off,” Tait said.
“We don’t know what discussions he and (Delhi coach) Ricky Ponting have been having about his batting, ‘do you want to bat a bit longer?’ that sort of thing.
“My opinion is it’s great to watch him when he hits them around early and attacks early.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
