David Warner will face Archer’s Rajasthan Royals on October 11.
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper David Warner has downplayed concerns about facing Jofra Archer at this year’s IPL. Warner was sacked four times by the England fast in the recently concluded series of limited overs in England, but he is not worried about the possibility of facing his great rival again at some point in the tournament.
Archer fired Warner in the first two Q20Is before the 33-year-old starter rested for Game 3. When Warner returned to the lineup for the ODI series, Archer pissed him off again, ditching the southpaw in the first two games before Warner fell on the final turn of the decisive Joe Root.
“Like I always say, the faster you shoot, the further you go,” Warner said before SRH’s first game. “At the end of the day, they’re going to take you out, it doesn’t matter if they have your measure or not. He threw me three good balls, I can’t do anything about it, like Stuart Broad did. Eight good balls for me (in the ashes).
“When two (good) guys are at their peak at the time, it’s very difficult to change that, but in the last game I hit pretty well against Archer so there’s nothing to worry about.”
However, SRH has a long way to go before Archer’s match against the Rajasthan Royals. They open their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Dubai on Monday (September 21). Warner, who has just arrived in the UAE from England, spoke about the challenges of moving from one bio-bubble to another.
“The life of bubbles is very challenging,” he noted. “It’s the hardest thing not to have family with us because of the restrictions. But these are unprecedented times due to Covid-19. The BCCI and the organizers have done a fantastic job putting this together. Obviously the next few months will be challenging. In Australia we can go out, play golf and drive a car Hopefully we can do some recreational things [here too]. But the first and foremost thing is that the tournament gets underway. It makes the difference “.
Warner has also challenged SRH’s new young middle order to take the fight to the opposition in case the higher order soon collapses. Warner and Bairstow have forged a formidable partnership at the top of the order and SRH has now invested in companies such as Virat Singh, Abdul Samad and Priyam Garg after letting go of Yusuf Pathan and Deepak Hooda.
“We didn’t give our middle order a lot of chances last time,” Warner said looking back at the 2019 season. “We’ll do our job at the top of the order, they have to come out and hit freely. If the wickets go down, [they should] try putting pressure on the bowlers. Ahead; If you suck balls, you won’t help anyone. “
The skipper is also hopeful that seasoned Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashid Khan will step up this time, especially since the leg player has played a lot of cricket in the United Arab Emirates. “Bhuvi and Rashid are very experienced bowlers and they are doing well,” he said. “Obviously in the beginning the new ball will swing here and in the middle, Rashid knows the grounds from the inside out, learning about bowling with the spray. He knows what to do when there is spray. Overall, we have a balanced team.” .
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