David Warner came on the scene as a rookie t20 cricket, As he nears the end of his career that has seen him become a multiformat great, he takes time out from his busy schedule Delhi Capitals To focus on many aspects of the game. Excerpts from the conversation:
IPL 2024: Mark sheet , orange cap , purple cap
You started with the IPL in 2009 as a T20 specialist. How much has the format evolved?
It has become a serious business. Earlier, when we played IPL, there were a lot of parties and a lot of excitement around it. When I first started in Australia, we had celebrities playing in our games, like people who didn’t play cricket and like we thought it was a hit and laugh thing. For the sake of our game, we have to make sure that we have a lot of kids who are still trying to play all three formats of the game because that’s what’s important. We do not want T-20 cricket to remain supreme.
Do you think it has become difficult now to be a player in all formats due to the complexities of T20 cricket?
It’s a mentality thing. It’s about how much you want it. The biggest issue today is that when you play for countries like Australia, England and India you get good remuneration central contract, So, we can continue playing red-ball cricket. In other countries where it is not a privilege, players go to T20 tournaments and freelance to earn very, very good money. I tell people that if you want to play in the longer format, go the way you need to. And this shows that you are a great player of the game.
What kind of interactions do you have with the youngsters in IPL?
You just let them be. If they want to interact with you, they’ll always interact, but I think it’s more about me being myself around them. Here they respect their superiors a lot. But I like it when people fuck me. I love when they, you know, play games with me and it’s like they’re pushing me around and saying things. We are all here to do one thing. That is to become the best cricketer that we can be for our team. So, it’s important to me that we’re enjoying and they’re enjoying the environment.
How much of T20 is driven by perceptions and data like strike-rate?
I think we overanalyze T20 cricket. You have people who open for their team at home and then come to the IPL and are batting at number five or six. If you specifically just think ‘I will only face 15 balls and try to hit 10 sixes’, it is not easy to do that all the time. It may shut down three times out of 10. But there’s a lot of Moneyball theory. Most of it is based on statistics. I will give you an example. If an offspinner bowls to me and I have a right-handed batsman at the other end, why would I try to bowl the offspinner? There are other things that people don’t pay attention to, like the sports landscape. If you lose a wicket, well, in the next two overs, you are not trying to hit the ball out of the park. You are trying to be smart. I’m not sitting with all the people who do all these things. But they are getting paid to do their job and if they don’t do it well, well, then, don’t sit around. (laughing).
You are also a world champion in all formats. Can you talk about the Australian winning mentality and how you share it with the Capitals who have been struggling for two seasons?
You don’t talk much about what happens. You just go out there and support yourself like a batsman. The more you go into your range, the fewer runs you will score. Always keep moving forward. You don’t intend to miss a few games in a row. You will get out, drop some catches, hit fours and sixes. But it depends on how you respond and how united you are as a team. Even at the Capitals, we’re together all the time. We are not happy with where we are on the table, but we are happy with where we are with our preparation. We are happy with the way the game is progressing. This is just the execution part.
David Warner (AP Photo)
Having recently quit other formats, has it been mentally easier to prepare for the T20 World Cup?
Most definitely. what is best for us Australian team Are we just going out and playing freely. There’s a lot of strength in our lineup. So, we go out there and just play our shots. You are not worried. If you’re afraid to get out, you will get out.
Being a successful player across three formats, how important is recovery as you develop as a player?
For me, if I’m playing 35-40 games a year (including 14-17 games in the IPL), I’m probably only hitting balls in training 50-60 times a year max. I don’t overdo it, but I have worked hard. I have batted, I have played for more than 15 years, so I know what to do. So, for me it’s about recovery. I like running and gym. It’s very hard to keep up when you’re doing everything. The most important thing is to make sure that your mind remains active. You don’t want to get tired. I don’t like training before games. The day before the game, I’ll rest, go to the gym, get on the treadmill, get in the pool, steam sauna, switch on. I’ll just bring some throw downs and stuff to hit the ball out of the middle.
Disorganized scheduling has a huge impact on professional cricketers. How important is it to play a sport beyond cricket?
It is very important to stay away from the game. You can’t eat what we call a cricket-ball sandwich. You can’t just keep hitting cricket balls. You need to give your mind a break from the work you do. You don’t see people working seven days a week. This is not possible. You need to take your mind off the game, have fun, spend time with your family, have a picnic, play some golf. Get into gaming or whatever else you do to relax and switch off.
