David Warner set to undergo elbow surgery but will be fit to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2019

David Warner will be undergoing minor surgery on Tuesday for the elbow issue that had cropped up during his stint with Sylhet Sixers at Bangladesh Premier League. The left-handed batsman followed his former captain Steven Smith way back home, who had returned to the country from Bangladesh few days back with the same issue. As per reports, Warner’s injury is not as big as Smith and he will be fit before the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019.

Despite being banned, Warner was retained by his franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. He, along with Smith, was allowed to play IPL 2018 as well but BCCI banned the participation of the duo in the tournament after Cricket Australia sanctioned a one year ban on them from international cricket, domestic cricket and Big Bash League. They were allowed to play grade cricket in Australia, county cricket and T20 leagues around the world, including IPL.

Both the banned cricketers played in Global T20 Canada, Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League before cutting short their stint at BPL due to elbow issues. While Warner is expected to play the IPL, Smith has been ruled out of the tournament as he will not be fit in time to play the league.

Warner, despite being fit, might miss full tournament or might just play a small part of the league due to international commitments as Australia are slated to play Pakistan in March or April. Warner will be available to play a part of the league but will have to return to Australia by May 1.

While if Australia play Pakistan in April, this might rule him out of the full tournament due to availability issues. The ban on Smith and Warner will end on March 28. Cameron Bancroft, the third player to be banned, has already served his ban period as he was sanctioned for nine months.