Warner hints at Test retirement next year

MELBOURNE: Swashbuckling Australia opening batter David Warner has hinted at Test retirement next year but he is likely to continue playing white-ball cricket.

Warner’s comments came after host Australia made an early exit from the T20 World Cup.

“Test cricket will probably be the first one to fall off. Potentially it could be my last 12 months in Test cricket,” Warner said on Monday. “Because that’s how it will pan out. The T20 World Cup is in 2024, (one-day) World Cup next year.”

The 36-year-old left-handed batter has played 96 Test matches since making his debut in 2011 and has scored 7817 runs at an average of 46.52 with 24 hundreds and 34 fifties.

He has also played 138 ODIs (5799 runs at 44.60 average) and 99 T20Is (2894 runs at 32.88 average).

Australia’s busy 2023 Test cricket schedule involves a Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India (February-March) and Ashes in England from June 16 to July 31.

The 50-over World Cup will be held in India in October-November next year, before T20’s next showpiece tournament in the Caribbean and USA in 2024.

Warner, however, made clear he intends to play in both.

“But I love the white-ball game; it’s amazing,” he said. Despite averaging 11 in Australia’s failed T20 World Cup campaign, Warner has no plans to quit the shortest format. “T20 cricket - I love the game. I will be looking to get to 2024,” Warner said.

“For all those people saying I am past it and a lot of those old people are past it, look out. Be careful what you wish for.”

Warner, whose lifetime captaincy ban could be lifted soon, said he wants to pass his cricketing knowledge to younger players.

“It’s about my knowledge of the game and passing it down to younger kids (as a captain),” Warner said.