David Warner has responded to talk of his retirement from ODI cricket after Australia’s incredible upset victory over India in the ICC World Cup final.
While the fiery opening batter will retire from Test cricket in January, he is yet to announce the end of his white-ball career.
The 37-year-old has previously flagged his intention to play in the T20 World Cup next year. Now the opener has hit back at a suggestion that the World Cup final would be his last.
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“Who said I’m finished??,” Warner posted on X, replying to ESPNcricinfo stating his ODI World Cup career had ended.
https://twitter.com/davidwarner31/status/1726717014214086996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Warner’s message came just hours after he wrote on Instagram, “see you in 2027” in a long post thanking India for its efforts hosting the tournament.
Warner has been integral in a successful year which has seen Australia win the World Test Championship, retain the Ashes in England and claim the World Cup.
The World Cup triumph made it Warner’s second after winning in 2015, and during the series he didn’t indicate any plans to end his white-ball career.
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“Bradley Hogg played until he was past 40 (43 in the Big Bash),” he said ahead of the semi-final against South Africa.
“Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik did the same thing. I’m still feeling fit. I’ll have to give myself a little bit of time off after this summer to actually think about all of that first.
“My goal is still to set my sights on playing the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean first (in June). And I think from there, I’ll probably decide what I’m going to do with white-ball cricket.
“Obviously, you’ve got contracting systems and all that stuff are inside that. So, there’s a lot of things you’ve got to factor in as well. They’re probably going to be conversations I’ll have after this summer.”
While intending to play on for Australia, Warner did state at the same time he wasn’t interested in signing a contract for Cricket Australia.
“I won’t be taking a contract, definitely not,” he said.
“How the system works in Australia is that if you play five (T20) games or ODIs, or three Tests, you get upgraded and then you’re legally bound by contracting system with sponsors and stuff.
“That’s something that becomes a bit of a pain in the backside, especially at my stage of my career.
“So I don’t want to be signed to that agreement and that’s something I have to think about moving forward, because if you’re going to get a low contract, it’s going to cost you a lot in the long run with sponsorships.
“I’ve got to sit back and have a look at what the schedule is, the (ICC) Future Tours schedule and you’ve got a Champions Trophy that’s coming up as well.
“So they’re potentially on my horizon.”
Speaking after the ODI World Cup final, former Australian captain Mark Taylor believed the make-up of the side could change significantly by the 2027 tournament which will be held in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
”Bearing in mind that’s four years away, you’re probably not going to have (David) Warner, (Steve) Smith… (Glenn) Maxwell’s 35 so he probably won’t be around in four years, although they’ll probably send me messages shortly saying they’ll be around when they’re 39,” he said on Nine’s coverage.
“Mitchell Starc’s 33, they’re going to have quite a few guys who won’t be around and if you look at people like your Travis Heads, Mitchell Marsh might still be there, Marnus Labuschagne, they’re going to be the senior guys of that campaign in four years’ time so you’d like to think one of those three, if they’re not the captain of the side, they’re going to be one of the major leaders in this Australian side.
“It’s great to see them do so well in this tournament because it holds Australian cricket in good stead over the next four years.”