On Tuesday, February 13, the prominent Australian batsman David Warner announced his retirement from Twenty20 Internationals following the June 1–July 1 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. Notably, Warner decided to say the shortest format farewell during the third Twenty20 International against the West Indies in Perth, having already declared his retirement from Tests and ODIs earlier this year.
In the third Twenty20 International, the Australian opener was the lone warrior for the hosts, scoring an incredible 81 off 49 balls, but it was insufficient to enable his team to chase down 221. The 37-year-old, who scored the most runs (173 from three innings) in the three-match tournament, was also named Player of the Series.
After receiving the Player of the Series title, the opening batter talked about his future plans. He said he’s “well and truly done” and is happy to give up his opening place to younger players after the World Cup.
“Taking a vacation and playing the franchise games was enjoyable. After the New Zealand series, I’ll attend the Indian Premier League before we head to the Caribbean for the World Cup. I was taken aback when the bowler opened at 145 mph and didn’t try to get me out. Travel to the Caribbean; the borders aren’t that great there. In the post-game press conference, Warner stated, “I’m well and truly done. It’s time for the youngsters to come through and show their talent.”
In T20Is, David Warner is Australia’s second-highest run scorer.
He scored an incredible 70 (36) earlier in the first Twenty20 International, slamming 12 fours and a six to help Australia win by 11 runs. The southpaw made history during the first game of the series by becoming just the third batter to play 100 games in all three forms.
Warner has amassed 3067 runs from 102 innings at an average of 33.70 and a strike rate of 142.51, with one hundred and twenty-six fifties, to rank second among Australia’s top run scorers in Twenty20 Internationals. In the shortest format of international cricket, he is just 53 runs away from becoming Australia’s most prolific batsman and overtaking Aaron Finch’s 3120 total.
Notably, Warner finished as the second-highest run scorer in the tournament with 289 runs from seven innings, earning him the title of Player of the Tournament in the 2021 T20 World Cup. He will be keen to close his career on a high note by assisting Australia in winning the format’s second title.
In the meantime, Australia’s final series before the T20 World Cup 2024 will be a three-match T20I series against New Zealand, which starts on Wednesday, February 21.
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