Australia opener David Warner will not play the T20I and ODI series against the West Indies in February 2024. Instead, he will turn out for the Dubai Capitals in the second edition of the International League T20. The left-handed batter is set to feature for one last time in the longest format of the game in the New Year Test in Sydney against Pakistan. Warner will be playing his trade in the ongoing Big Bash League and then in ILT20 in February.
The development has been confirmed by chief executive of the Australian Cricketers' Association Greenberg while speaking to SEN. Soon after final Test against Pakistan next week, Warner will turn up for Sydney Thunder in BBL and then feature in the two-match Test series against the West Indies starting from January 17. However, he won't be part of the white-ball leg of the series starting from February 2 and instead, will feature for the Dubai based side in ILT20 that is scheduled to run from January 19 from February 17.
"I think the short answer to that is probably yes. I know he's pretty committed to the BBL. There's no doubt in the next phase of Dave's life he's going to be looking to ply his trade where he gets the best return on his investment. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, in fact I'm encouraging him to do that. There will be times where he'll be looking to miss certain games and tours. That's the sort of flexibility we've got to get our heads around. Some people won't like that, but that's the modern world of which we're living in and we have to embrace it," Greenberg said.
A player like Warner missing international cricket for T20 leagues is certainly going to roll some heads but it seems that Australia are likely to rest top players for the West Indies ODIs and T20Is. The full strength team is likely to be picked for the New Zealand T20I series keeping in mind the T20 World Cup.
