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Cricket fans were baffled over Sunrisers Hyderabad's decision to drop David Warner for the game against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday in Delhi.
A day after getting sacked as SRH skipper, the Australian swashbuckler was seen carrying drinks for SRH players.
South African fast bowler Dale Steyn feels IPL 2021 could be Warner's final season with SRH.
It would have been alright to appoint Kane Williamson as captain and still give Warner a game, Steyn said. But the decision to drop Warner from the Royals game, Steyn felt was 'strange' given his track record in the IPL.
'It's strange that he isn't a part of the playing eleven,' Steyn added. 'It's understandable if they want to change ownership of captaincy for the next season, and keep Kane there. But David is still a phenomenal batter and I would still keep him in the eleven.'
'This might be the last time we see Warner in the Orange Army,' Steyn predicted.
Even though SRH's Director of Operations Tom Moody hinted that Warner's axing was purely based on team composition, Steyn feels there is more to it, believing that there may have been some sort of falling out following Warner's comment on Manish Pandey getting dropped after the first match.
'I don't know if David may have questioned some of the decisions, maybe when Manish Pandey was left out. Sometimes, the management doesn't appreciate that, I guess,' Steyn said.
'The captain of the team also needs to take ownership of his squad and who's going out on the field. Seems like there's definitely happening something behind closed doors, the public is not aware of,' Steyn speculated.
'A bloke that has carried this team for years, your openers aren't the issue. How about getting a decent middle-order that scores some runs?' Steve Warner, David Warner's brother, asked on Instagram.
David Warner led SRH to its only IPL title in 2016. He is the fifth on the list of IPL's highest run-getters, the only batsmen to score fifty half-centuries in the tournament and a three-time Orange Cap winner, the most by any player.