IPL: 5 times when there was a rift between a player and his franchise

IPL has seen a lot of rift between the players and franchise over the years and the management becomes a key factor in the decision-making. It is important to understand the strength and role of the player inside the team and sometimes, decisions could backfire the whole harmony inside the franchise.

The involvement of owners in the team decisions against the interest of the players has always been an area of concern and it had to be dealt with in the right way. More often, the head coach and the captain have failed to be on the same side and dropping a big player is not an easy decision in the cash-rich tournament. The players have often moved out of a franchise if they feel they have been disrespected by the management.

Here are 5 times when there was a rift between a player and their IPL franchise:

1. David Warner and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021

David Warner has been one of the best batters in IPL history over the years and he had a great impact on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in his stint from 2014 to 2021. The left-hander led the side in 2016 to a title victory and he was quite consistent at the top of the order. The Hyderabad fans loved his presence in the squad and crowds gathered in numbers whenever he came out to bat.

He won the orange cap thrice in 2015, 2017, and 2019 and it looked like the bond was unbreakable between the franchise and Warner. However, it all seemed to fade away in 2021 as Sunrisers sacked him from captaincy after a poor start to the tournament. SRH lost five out of their first six games and the management wasn’t happy with the team combination.

Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan and Kane Williamson were undroppable owing to good form and Warner’s position in the playing XI came under the scanner. Finally, Warner was omitted from the playing XI and Williamson was named the captain in the middle of the tournament. The decision turned a lot of eyes red and the fans certainly did not welcome it. Warner played just eight games in the season where he scored 195 runs which included two fifties.

Despite being a match winner for the franchise for a long time, Warner was benched and the social media went bizarre seeing him carrying drinks. As expected, he was subsequently not retained by the franchise ahead of the IPL Mega auction in 2022 and he moved to the Delhi Capitals.