One of the greatest batters of all time, David Warner’s international career ended on a bitter note after Australia failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals, exiting in the Super 8 stage. For Australia to continue their journey in the tournament, they needed Bangladesh to beat Afghanistan in the final Super 8 match on Monday. Though the Bangla Tigers came close, Rashid Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq and others stepped up at crucial intervals to knock the Aussies out of the tournament with a win.
Australia’s premature elimination from the tournament also confirmed Warner’s international exit. The opening batter had already confirmed that the T20 World Cup in USA and West Indies will be his last in the Australian shirt.
Despite hinting at a potential return for next year’s Champions Trophy, it appears unlikely, Warner ended his international career in stages, playing his last ODI during Australia’s triumphant 2023 campaign in India, his final Test against Pakistan in early 2024 and was set to finish altogether after the 2024 T20 World Cup.
His breathtaking 89 from 43 balls on his T20I debut against South Africa told the world of his talent. In 110 matches he scored 3277 runs including a century against Pakistan in 2019–third Aussie to score centuries in all three formats of the game, and 28 half-centuries.
Away from international cricket, he has had a prolific franchise T20 career, especially in the IPL, and in 2021 became just the fourth batter to pass 10,000 runs in T20.
“(I) put my arm around him,” Australia Ricky Ponting recounted on ICC’s Digital Daily show. “I said, ‘…just take a moment tonight to sit back by yourself and reflect on what’s been an unbelievable career across all three formats for Australia.’
“We know he retired in the summer from test cricket, but you’ll struggle to find a guy that’s had as big an impact on all three forms in Australian cricket than David Warner has.
“I’ve been able to play with him, I’ve been able to coach him in the IPL the last couple of years and I really enjoy his company. So he should be very proud of what he’s done.”
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood had also spoken of Warner’s international retirement after the team’s defeat against India in the Super 8s.
“We’ll definitely miss him around the group, out in the field and off field,” Hazelwood had said after the team’s loss to India.
“(An) amazing all-format career. It’s sort of been a slow burn with Test cricket and ODI cricket and now T20. So, life without him, we’ve sort of gotten used to it a little bit … it’s always different when you lose a player that’s been there for so long.”
With IANS Inputs
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