VVS Laxman bats for David Warner, says the Aussie was definitely misunderstood

Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman recently made some very strong remarks on the veteran Australian cricketer David Warner. Warner and Laxman have shared the dressing room in the Sunriserds Hyderabad camp in the IPL. While Laxman is the mentor of the side, Warner was the former skipper. In the recent episode of the Breakfast With Champions, Laxman batted for Warner’s innocence.

David Warner is currently serving his one year ban following the ball tampering scandal. Commenting on the same, VVS Laxman remarked that the southpaw has been misunderstood by the media and the fans in the case. He noted that Warner does not even bowl, so there was definitely someone else who forced him to do such things.

“He is definitely misunderstood. There is no doubt about ball tampering being an offence and he probably should not have done it. But what did he have to gain from it personally? He is not even bowling,” VVS Laxman quoted.

VVS Laxman recalls a similar incident

To illustrate his point, VVS Laxman narrated an anecdote as well. He recalled his times in the Deccan Chargers setup in the IPL when Adam Gilchrist led the team, and Darren Lehmann was the head coach. He revealed that Lehmann and Gilchrist had asked Andrew Symonds to sledge Yusuf Pathan during a game. VVS added that he asked Symonds why would he do so. Much to his surprise, Symonds responded by saying that he is a soldier who is obeying the orders of the leaders.

“One thing that I will never forget is what happened with Andrew Symonds. He was with me in Deccan and is a very close and dear friend of mine. Lovely guy and another player who is misunderstood. We were playing for Deccan Chargers and Gilly (Adam Gilchrist) was our captain and Darren Lehmann was our coach. (In a match) Yusuf Pathan was the batsman and had been in good form and we knew that we needed his wicket early. Gilly and Lehmann came up with a plan where Symonds had to stand at silly point – not to take a catch but just to sledge Yusuf and make him angry,” Laxman recalled.

“So I asked Symonds, ‘Why would you do this?’ he told me, ‘I am a soldier. I am not a leader’. So, like a soldier, his job was only to follow orders and not question them. So I somehow feel that Warner is also a soldier. He does everything that he can for the team. I have seen it in Hyderabad, the way he would interact with the uncapped Indian players,” he remarked further.

Face of the players

VVS Laxman also revealed that his children cried for a day when they got to know that David Warner will not be a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad campaign in 2018. Also, the former Indian cricketer cited that Warner has always been a man for his team. To add weight to his point, he gave the example of the players’ feud with Cricket Australia when Warner stood as the face of all the other players.

“I feel that even when he plays for Australia, there is an X-factor. When there was a pay dispute with Cricket Australia, the one guy who stood for all the players was Warner. He is someone who has always been the face of the players. He has never been selfish,” cited the former Indian cricketer.

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