IPL 2023: Will be blown away if David Warner doesn’t set IPL alight from now on, says Shane Watson

Bengaluru, April 13 : Delhi Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson stated he will be "blown away" if skipper David Warner doesnt set the IPL alight in the rest of the season, adding that the veteran left-handed opener is very close to being at his aggressive best with the bat.Warner has hit three half-centuries in four games for Delhi, amassing 209 runs at an average of 52.

25.But those runs have come at a sluggish strike rate of 114.83 and Warner is yet to hit a six in the competition, having struggled to accelerate the scoring rate for Delhi.On Tuesday, Warner was seen punching his bat in frustration after making a 43-ball half-century in Delhis six-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians, their fourth defeat in as many matches this season.

"The other night (on Tuesday against Mumbai Indians), Dave definitely had a lot more fearless mindset with the way he was batting.He was taking the game on… yes, he missed a few balls that in the past he would have hit for four or six.Hes mis-hit a couple of balls, but thats all part of Dave just working through the technical side of his game.""Thats also part of my role as well, as a coach.

Because I know Dave so well from batting with him and playing with him, there are one or two little things that I know hell get right over the next couple of days and Ill be blown away if he doesnt -- yes, hes been scoring runs, but from a scoring perspective -- if he doesnt set the IPL alight from now on, knowing that hes so close.""Hes batting very nicely.

Hes just mis-hitting some balls that hed normally hit for four or six.Once you do that, once you start really finding the middle of your bat, then your scoring rate just goes through the roof," elaborated Watson on The Grade Cricketer podcast.During the tournament, Warner also became the fastest player to reach 6,000 runs in his IPL career and Watson also revealed that the opener is trying to find his way out of the dilemma of taking a risk when wickets are falling from the other end."His strike rate across his career in the IPL is nearly 140.Hes been a great player in the IPL for a long period.That (taking risk or not) has always been a challenging inner battle as it goes against a lot of the things that youre taught as a kid growing up.You lose a wicket, youve got to establish a partnership - even in T20 cricket - for five or six balls.""But then, if you do that and you keep losing wickets after five or six balls before you know it, youre three overs down and youve just been rotating ones to try and build a partnership.

Dave was just working through that himself in the first few games," he added.With Delhi at the bottom of the points table after four consecutive losses, Saturdays match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium holds the key for them to make a turnaround in their campaign.Watson said all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will be available for the match after missing the last two games due to his wedding back home in Perth.

"Its never perfect when you lose your first four games.But that is the beauty of having someone with the skill of Ricky Ponting as a coach, and just his understanding of people.

Thats the beauty of being a coach, to be able to help the guys where they need it, whether its skill-wise or mentally.""At the Delhi Capitals, we have to turn it around.

Mitch Marsh is back after his wedding and will be raring to go.These are the times when you really see the true colours of people and coaches when things arent going well.Its a true sign of character: how you can work through the little things that are not going how we want them to, to turn them around and be more consistent," he concluded.nr/bsk #blown #David #doesnt #Shane #Watson #Delhi #Mumbai #Bangalore #Kannada #Bengaluru #Cricket #BCCI #ICC #IPL #Sports David #Delhi #Bangalore #Mumbai .