I am still friends with Kohli: David Warner

Sunrisers captain David Warner said that he is still good friends with Virat Kohli despite a Qantas Tour of India, a series which was marred by controversy. Warner, though, wasn’t in the thick of things and largely struggled with the bat managing just 193 runs from 8 innings which including just one half-century.

Warner said that he had a chat with Virat in the opening ceremony of the IPL on Wednesday. “Ya. I had a chat with Virat. We are still friends, thankfully. I had a text conversation with him which is very nice of him. As we all know, we all got jobs to do. You guys (journalists) write, right or wrong. We players…that’s how the game is. But, away from this, we are still very good friends,” the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald.

Warner said that the IPL has been a great way of extending friendships between cricketers around the world. But the moment cricketer’s step onto the field for their country, they tend to get emotional.

“Sometimes on the field, we can take it too seriously and for the emotions for the next hour, we might be thinking they are not going to be anymore this and that, but for us, we are all going to be friends, everything is taken care.”
“It’s a friendly environment, especially IPL and world cricket. We just love playing the game and making sure everyone is smiling,” he said.

Warner, of course, leads the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise and led his team to the title win last year. He was pleased with his team starting on the right note for their title defence this season. Their opponents, RCB, were thrashed by Sunrisers by 35 runs in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Mustafizur Rahman, who was a revelation last season hasn’t joined the Sunrisers camp yet as he is busy with international duties. There is no official word on his arrival yet and Warner wasn’t sure about it too.

“You know as much as I do. I didn’t even know that he was not going to be here till I landed. I think the whisper was he is going to be with us in Mumbai,” he said, adding there will be more clarity on the issue.

Being the defending champions add a bit of pressure on a team but Warner thinks otherwise.

“There is no pressure… Last year (there) were more individuals playing a role, one or two in each single game. This year (to) start the way we did was fantastic. We had self-belief. It’s great to be defending champions. But, we will play the way we do. Keep calm and everything will pan out the way that we do. If we go on the field and give 100 percent every time,” he said.

David Warner’s own form, which was exemplary last season, will be crucial to Sunrisers chances this year. He looked in good touch in the first game but got carried away after hitting a couple of boundaries eventually getting out for 14. He will need to score big runs at the top of the order if Sunrisers are to repeat their last year’s heroics.

Sunrisers will play their second game at home against Gujarat Lions on Sunday in a day game.