I worked on being the best father and best husband, says David Warner recalling ball-tampering ban

After returning from the suspension, Warner was in imperious form in the ongoing edition of IPL and ended his campaign with 692 runs, the highest so far in the tournament.

Speaking at the post-match ceremony after his team secured a comprehensive 45-run win over Kings XI Punjab, Warner said, “I have had time off to work harder at my game. Put the bat down for 16-18 weeks and just worked hard on being the best father and husband, that has worked for me. Yeah, I try to be the funny man in the team, the prankster.”

Speaking on his performance, Warner said, “It’s obviously great to get out there and do your job properly. We’ve got a great deck to bat on. The groundstaff have worked tirelessly to prepare good wickets and then it’s about going back to basics and backing your instincts. I think it just goes back to being still as a batsman. I get the tendency to moving around a bit if there have been a few dots. But I have worked hard over the last few months. The gameplan is to back yourself, just back your natural game.”

He also predicted high scoring matches in the upcoming ICC World Cup, which starts from May 30. “This World Cup, you’ll see some high scores. Hopefully the ball doesn’t swing as much. Obviously, England are the home team and they’re great. We’re world champions. I’m sure it’ll be great.”

Playing his final match of the season, Warner scored 81 off just 56 balls. His knock saw SRH post a mammoth 212/6 on the board. In response, Punjab got off to a poor start as they lost Chris Gayle early. Rahul and Mayank Agarwal kept the visitors in the contest but brilliant bowling display by Rashid Khan and Khaleel Ahmed helped SRH restrict Punjab on 167/8 in 20 overs.