Australian captain Pat Cummins has dismissed the chance of star batter David Warner rejoining the team for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. Warner retired from Test cricket after his final match against Pakistan in Sydney earlier this year and stepped away from international play following the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Despite this, with the Test team still looking for an opening partner for Usman Khawaja, Warner surprised many by expressing his desire to return for the series against India.
“I’m always available, just got to pick up the phone. I’m always dead serious. Let’s be honest, the guys have played one red-ball game since their last Test matches in February, so I’ve almost had the same preparation.”
”Honestly, if they really needed myself for this series, I’m more than happy to play the next Shield game and go out there and play,” said Warner to Code Sports.
While speaking to the Grade Cricketer, Cummins initially made a sarcastic remark before discussing his recent phone conversation with Warner.
“Dave, we’re very interested. We’re taking it very seriously and we’ll be in touch, mate,” a sarcastic Cummins said.
“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!’ he added.
Warner is Australia’s fifth-highest run-scorer in Tests, with 8,786 runs at an average of 44.59, including 26 centuries. The five-Test series between India and Australia begins in Perth on November 22.
“We appreciate Davey, but he is retired”- Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins believed David Warner’s comments about being ready to return for the India series were partly a joke. The 37-year-old participated in the latter half of the previous home Test series against India, which Australia lost 1-2.
“I think the truth’s somewhere in the middle. I reckon it 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,” said Cummins.
After Warner’s retirement, Australia experimented with veteran batter Steve Smith at the top of the order for the next four Tests. However, the strategy did not work out, leading them to announce that Smith would return to his usual No. 4 position for the India series.
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