Australia’s David Warner raises his bat after making 50 runs against Pakistan on the fourth day of their cricket Test match in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. AP/PTI
Days after his comments about coming out of retirement, former Australian opener David Warner clarified that he would only make a U-turn on his retirement if the Australian team management asked him to consider playing again for the national side.
With the Australian team management confirming that Steve Smith will be playing at his usual number four spot in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting November 22, it’s still uncertain who will open along with Usman Khawaja.
“My comment was only if my phone rang and they called me and if they asked. (In that case) you’re not going to say no. You’re not going to turn down a game for Australia. I think a lot of it got taken out of context by some people but it is what it is. If I was to get a call, why wouldn’t I say yes?” said Warner during his commentary debut on Fox Sports during the first ODI between Australia and Pakistan at MCG.
The former Australian opener, who had played in 112 Test matches for Australia, had announced his retirement after the Test series against Pakistan earlier this year.
Last month, the 38-year-old, who was undergoing a lifetime ban on holding leadership positions in Australian cricket, was also cleared of the ban imposed by Cricket Australia after the 2018 ball tampering scandal.
With Warner telling Australian media last week that his hand is up if they (Australian team management) need someone, Australian skipper Pat Cummins had talked about shutting the door on Warner. “I did speak to Dave a couple of days ago. I can’t remember if he reached out or I did… he’s like, ‘What do you think?’, and I was like, ‘Yeah, good luck with [Sydney] Thunder and I look forward to your comments on Fox.’ I reckon it (offer) is a bit of a wind-up but I reckon he doesn’t mind seeing himself in the back page. We love Davey but he is retired,” Cummins said on a podcast The Grade Cricketers.
With the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team facing Australia in the five-Test match series starting November 22, Warner was of the view that South Australian captain Nathan McSweeney can be one of the options for the opener slot. “McSweeney’s a talent. They can run the gauntlet with him opening the batting. I know he bats No. 3 for South Australia, but I think there’s leadership qualities there as well,” Warner said during commentary on Fox Sports.
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