Renowned Australian opener David Warner on Saturday hinted at his potential Test retirement, announcing that the Sydney Test against Pakistan in January next year can be his final red-ball appearance.
Interacting with the reporters ahead of the World Test Championship Final against India at Lord’s, scheduled to commence on June 7, David Warner revealed that he wants to play his farewell Test match at his home ground Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) against Pakistan next year.
Australia are poised to take on West Indies in a two-match Test series briefly after Pakistan Tests but David Warner made it clear that he will not be a part of the Australian squad.
“You’ve got to score runs,” Warner told reporters, according to cricket.com.au.
“I probably owe it to myself and my family — if I can score runs here and continue to play back in Australia — I can definitely say I won’t be playing that West Indies series. If I can get through this [WTC final and Ashes] and make the Pakistan series I will definitely finish up then,” he said during the interaction.
In response to his plans regarding taking retirement from international cricket as a whole, David Warner hinted 2024 World Cup could be his last international outing but shared that he will continue to play franchise cricket around the world.
“I’ve always said the [2024] World Cup would probably be my final game,” shared Warner.
Earlier this year, David Warner shared that he and his opening partner Usman Khawaja opted against retiring simultaneously.
“For us it’s about not leaving this team with a big hole. I know through those five-year transition periods when a lot of the greats left, they’re big holes to fill with the amount of games you play. We always talk about games played and how much that means into a team’s performance and perspective with experience. You can’t fill that void,” he said.
Schedule of Pakistan tour of Australia
December 14-18: First Test, Perth Stadium
December 26-30: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
January 3-7: Third Test, Sydney Cricket Ground.