Former West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle has said that Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper David Warner's slow scoring rate is causing strain on himself and other batters in the IPL 2023. He also mentioned that being an experienced player, the Australian should be able to improve his scoring pace.
In the match against Mumbai Indians (MI), Warner began well but was unable to break free from the shackles later due to lack of timing and was finding fielders consistently, taking 43 balls to reach a laborious half-century.
Though Warner got his third fifty of the competition, it didn't have enough power to change Delhi's end result as MI successfully chased down a 173-run target in the final delivery of the chase.
Warner is second on the list of highest run scorers list in the IPL 2023 but his strike rate has been a cause for concern.
"In the first six overs, he showed a bit of intent and tried to be positive there. The wicket was very good to bat on in the powerplay. But he is putting a lot of pressure on himself and the other players as well. Players feel they have to come while he is not getting to ball away, they pretty much have to go from ball one and that is causing Delhi a lot of problems in the middle," Gayle told the digital broadcaster Jio Cinema.
"So that's something he needs to work on. He is experienced enough to know what to do. He spoke about it in the previous game," he added.
However, after Delhi slumped to their fourth loss of the season, Axar revealed Warner had been trying hard to get back to his attacking self, but has been unable to do so.
"No one has asked him (to be the anchor of the innings). Even in the last two-three games, when he has been trying to hit, it's not been coming off. As a batsman, I don't know what he is thinking at that moment. When Prithvi (Shaw) is batting, he has to anchor."
Delhi Capitals are rooted to the bottom of the standings after losing all their four matches so far. They will next play Royal Challengers Bangalore on at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
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