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New Delhi: David Warner has finally revealed why he attacked Joe Root in a Birmingham nightclub in 2013.
Speaking to Sydney Morning Herald, Warner claimed that he felt the English batsman was poking fun at the South African batsman Hasim Amla and his religion by wearing a fake wig in the chin.
“A mate of mine was actually wearing [the wig] on top of his head like a [Lasith] Malinga wig, that’s what it was. He was wearing it on his head and (Root) decided to come in and take it off my mate’s head and start acting the way he did,” Warner said.
Amla, who sports a beard, is widely respected as one of the finest batsman of the era, is a devout Muslim. The South African was also subject to a ‘terrorist’ comment by Dean Jones in 2006.
The former Australia batsman turned TV commentator was sacked by his employers after being heard saying, “the terrorist has got another wicket” when Amla took the catch to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara in a Test match at Colombo.
“When people are drunk that’s what they do but I thought it was a bit inappropriate the way he went about that stuff so I went over and tried to take it off him. I just think in today’s society you shouldn’t be fooling around with that kind of stuff,” Warner explained.
Warner, however, sounded apolegetic about the infamous incident and said, “And he probably didn’t mean anything by it at all but I just thought … actually I can’t say I thought … I probably let my aggression and alcohol take over there and probably made an excuse for me to go over there and actually take it off him.”
In the infamous nightclub brawl, the Aussie opener punched the Englishman, earning himself a two match ban. Known for his explosive batting and also volatile presence in the field, Warner has had his share of negative limelight.
In a bid to enhance his image, Warner has become a tee-totaller, and he even celebrated Australia’s recent Test win at West Indies with green tea, while his team-mates raised a glass of win.
“We always talk about celebrating our wins and stuff and this is something that I’ve never ever done in my life, to not do something that I like to do socially, and that’s have a drink… But it’s more of a challenge to myself to say I can do it. It’s nothing else. I haven’t been told to, I don’t want to prove a point, I just want to tell myself that I can be disciplined,” Warner added.
The first Test of the Ashes series starts on July 8. The Cardiff Test will be followed by four more Test matches before the two traditional rivals engage themselves in a five match One-Day Internationals and a lone T20 International.
