David Warner announced his decision to retire from ODI cricket on Monday, January 1, and also put his controversial past behind him ahead of his farewell Test match in Sydney. After the retirement announcement, the legendary Australian veteran also revealed his final thoughts over a lifetime captaincy ban after the infamous sandpapergate scandal in 2018.
Warner enjoyed a great form in 2023 where he surpassed former legends Steve Waugh and Allan Border to become Australia's all-time leading runscorer in international cricket after Ricky Ponting. But the top-order batter was at the centrepiece of the infamous Sandpapergate scandal in 2018 that brought him a lifetime captaincy ban from Cricket Australia.
The 37-year-old veteran has always shown his interest in leading the national team in recent years. After announcing his retirement, Warner admitted that he feels like a leader of the current South Africa team even without a captaincy armband. Warner also added that he has moved forward from both a lifetime captaincy ban and the Sandpapergate scandal with 'dignity'.
"I've got opportunities to lead in the IPL, to lead in the ILT20," Warner said during a press conference at SCG on Monday. "I've enjoyed my leadership roles. But for me, in recent years, I've learned that leadership (isn't about) wearing a captain or vice-captain badge. For me, I'm a leader in this team no matter what. You don't need that C or VC next to your name. I know myself and my energy at times can be annoying, and I can be a pest, but I know that inside that changeroom it gets everyone up and about. There's going to be obstacles in the way, but you have to move forward (from the sandpapergate scandal) and I've done that with dignity."
Meanwhile, when asked about his inconsistent form in red-ball cricket, Warner revealed that he had planned to retire from Test cricket after the Lord's match during the 2023 Ashes. Warner struggled to make an impact in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and Ashes with just one hundred and two fifties in 20 innings in 2023.
"I actually had Lord's pencilled in as my last Test, especially if I didn't go as well as I did in a partnership with 'Uzzie' (Usman Khawaja) at the top of the order. Then from there, it just followed that we played some good innings together. I didn't have that hundred (in England) that I always wanted but always eluded me in achieving. But as a team and as a whole we did our bit," Warner added.
