Following a string of poor returns with the bat in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, David Warner was dropped from the playing XI of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for match 40 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Dubai International Stadium. England opener Jason Roy has been handed his debt cap for the Sunrisers to replace the veteran Aussie.
Warner scored 0 and 2 on his return to Sunrisers playing XI in the UAE which took his tally to 195 runs this season in eight innings at a strike rate of 107.73 and average of 24.37. The figures are presently his worst in any IPL season.
For long there has been discussion on the inclusion of Roy, who replaced all-rounder Mitchell Marsh ahead of the start of the UAE leg, in place of a struggling Warner.
Head coach Treyvor Bayliss had earlier said that the change is something "that will be discussed in the team meeting".
"Yes. Obviously, he (Jason Roy) is our spare overseas batter. I'm sure the management will get together and discuss to pick a team. So, I'm not going to select a team right now. We'll sleep on that and think about it and have a selection meeting on Sunday," Bayliss said after Sunrisers' match against Punjab Kings last week.
Sunrisers, who have already fallen out of contention from the race to the playoffs, made as many as four changes against Rajasthan.
"Jason Roy is at the top for David Warner. Pandey, Kedar miss out. Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma are playing. Sid Kaul replaces injured Khaleel," said captain Kane Williamson after losing the toss.
