By Boria Majumdar



It was around 6 AM Monday morning on 30 May and David Warner was about to leave the hotel for the airport in Bengaluru. He had a 10 AM flight for New York where he will be meeting his wife Candice and two daughters Ivy and Indi after a month and a half. Soon after he was in the car did he call to say, “It has not sunk in yet you know that we could beat Bangalore in Bangalore and win the IPL. They are a great team. I feel overwhelmed. Everyone was ready to give it their all. We are IPL champions.”

Words were just flowing like the way the runs did over the last couple of months. I asked him to go back in time to June 2013 and tell me if all of this feels real? Down and out after the Joe Root punchgate controversy in Birmingham, Warner was on the cusp of giving it all up and going away. “The question was should I leave as cricket’s bad boy or should I try and do everything I could to make a comeback and play for my country for another 10 years”, David said.

He chose the latter option and the rest is history. Suspended by Cricket Australia and banished from England midway into the tour, Warner, in 2013, seemed completely lost. A horrible tour of India and an average IPL had only added to his woes and everything seemed to fall apart that night in Birmingham.

Once he was back in Sydney and united with then girlfriend and now wife, Candice Falzon, David had to take a real harsh career call – it was then or never for him.

Candice, a strict disciplinarian and an elite sportsperson herself, took the lead in reigniting the self belief in Warner. David, never an early riser, started getting up at 5am everyday to go out and train. He wouldn’t miss training for anything and within months the results were evident. England was touring Australia for the Ashes and Warner, to everyone’s surprise, played like a man possessed in all the five Test matches of the series.

The remarkable improvement continued over the next one year and more and immediately after Michael Clarke’s retirement, in 2015, Warner was rewarded with Australian vice-captaincy. For him, this was a huge breakthrough.

It was acceptability in the pantheon of Australian cricket legends and Warner, who had always wanted to make this giant leap, was finally there. And he has not looked back. Winning the World Cup in 2015 and playing some excellent Test cricket, Warner, ever y o n e e x -pected would turn out to be Australia’s go to man in the world T-20 in India in March 2016. And he himself was mighty confident on the eve of the World Cup and felt rather depressed having failed to deliver for his team. It may have been the batting order – Warner batted at number four instead of his usual opening slot and that’s what may have resulted in a loss of rhythm. He was determined to make amends in the IPL and Sunrisers Hyderabad was the beneficiary.

Leading a mediocre team in the absence of Yuvraj Singh, the Sunrisers started poorly. Losing the first couple of games, Warner, it must be said felt the ghost of the 2015 IPL was coming back to haunt him. “I can’t forget that catch you know. I had it all under control before I stepped over the line”, he recalled speaking of the 2015 nightmare. The only way he could forget this was by winning the 2016 IPL and if the first couple of matches were any indication he was far from it.

And then the final phase in the Warner story started to unfold. As he led by example. Ashish Nehra, with the T20 form he has shown lately, was going to be beneficial for the team, and which he was until he got injured. But, Warner got the best out of Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and in Mustafizur Rehman he had a trump card that he had to use well. Developing communication techniques to overcome the language barrier, Warner managed to do so and in no time The Fizz was ready to give it his all for his captain.

With Yuvi back and showing glimpses of his regal form and Ben Cutting plugging the middle order problem, Warner, by the time of the Play-offs had stitched together a formidable T-20 unit.

However, just a formidable unit wouldn’t be enough to take Bangalore on in the final. And who would know it better than Warner. He had to surprise RCB and play to his strengths, he had to be proactive and not reactive. He did so by winning the toss and batting first. To everyone’s surprise he was willing to let Bangalore chase and was willing to let his bowlers defend against the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. And that’s when Warner the batsman came to the fore one final time. A brilliant 69 to set the tone, Sunrisers managed to score 208 and the rest is history. And in victory, Warner showed his evolution. It was never him, it was always ‘we the team’. The transformation was complete.

Believe it or not Warner has not touched alcohol for a year and more. Not even in the post match party. In fact, he is waiting to meet Candice in New York and sip his first glass of champagne together in a year and more. And may I say the celebration is much deserved.