"He watched me a couple of times and said, ‘you’ll be a better Test cricketer than T20 player'" - David Warner on Virender Sehwag identifying him as potential Test player in 2009
Australian opening batter David Warner recalled an interaction with former Indian player Virender Sehwag regarding his red ball credentials more than a decade ago. The veteran explosive player made his debut for Australia in 2009 without playing a first-class game.
Following a fruitful start to his international career, which included a memorable 89-run knock on his debut, Warner was roped in by Delhi Daredevils (now renamed Delhi Capitals).
The New South Wales-born batter had a lukewarm first season, scoring 163 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 123.48. Nevertheless, he left a lasting impression on then franchise captain Sehwag.
Sehwag 49.3 / 82.2
Gilchrist 47.6 / 82.0
Only five Test batters (since balls faced data has been collected) have an average of >40 and a strike rate of >70:
🏝 Richards 50.2 / 70.2
🇮🇳 Sehwag 49.3 / 82.2
🇦🇺 Gilchrist 47.6 / 82.0
🇦🇺 Warner 47.5 / 71.5
🇮🇳 Pant 40.9 / 70.5 twitter.com/CricCrazyJohns…
On Sehwag predicting him to have a formidable Test career before he had made his first-class debut, Warner said in an interview with Fox Sports:
“When I went to Delhi, Sehwag watched me a couple of times and said to me, ‘you’ll be a better Test cricketer than what you will be a T20 player."
Warner continued:
“I basically looked at him and said, ‘mate, I haven’t even played a first-class game yet’. But he said, ‘all the fielders are around the bat, if the ball is there in your zone you’re still going to hit it. You’re going to have ample opportunity to score runs. You’ve always got to respect the good ball, but you’ve always got to punish the ball you always punish’.”
Sehwag's words would turn out to be prophetic, as Warner became one of Australia's most influential batters in the next decade. The left-hander has amassed 7817 runs in 96 Tests with 24 centuries since making his debut in 2011.
"I’ve pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to do" - David Warner
At 36, Warner is heading into the twilight of his career. Nevertheless, he continues to be an integral part of the team across formats at the top of the order. Apart from his prowess with the bat, Warner's experience makes him among the candidates to be the next ODI captain following Aaron Finch's retirement.
Warner says that he has achieved most feats he had planned on scaling when he started out. He said:
"I wrote down what I wanted to achieve and when I was going to retire. I had 2033 but crossed out for 2023. I had like 20 (Test) hundreds, 20 ODI hundreds, 10 T20 hundreds, and over, I think, 6,000 Test runs, 5,000 ODI runs and 10,000 T20 runs. So I’ve pretty much ticked all them off bar two ODI (and two T20) hundreds. I’ve pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to do."
The opening batter was rested for the recently concluded three-game T20I series against India in the subcontinent. He has been included in the squad to face the visiting West Indies in three T20Is, beginning on October 5.
Is the flamboyant David Warner among the greatest opening batters in Test cricket? Let us know what you think.