"Where did he rank? Who knows and who cares" - Ian Chappell hails David Warner ahead of farewell SCG Test
Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has hailed opening batter David Warner for his style of play ahead of the veteran's farewell Test against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), starting January 3.
Warner, 37, scored a magnificent 164 in the first Test at Perth to help the hosts capture a 1-0 series lead. Despite the southpaw enduring a relatively quiet second Test, the Aussies still emerged victorious to take an unassailable 2-0 lead with a game remaining.
Talking to the World Wide of Sports ahead of Warner's Test finale, Chappell was dismissive of where the swashbuckling opener would rank all-time and chose to instead focus on Warner's unmatched legacy.
"If you're an opener, as soon as you fail once or twice, it's always 'mate, perhaps you should steady down a bit. Rankings are a load of bulls--- in my opinion. Could the bloke play? Bloody oath he could play. Was he one of the better players? Sure. Where did he rank? Who knows and who cares," said Chappell.
Chappell was especially impressed with Warner's attacking approach at the top of the order, even when he was short of runs.
"Very few players - and when I say very few, in my memory in the Australian Test side - have had the skill and the guts to play aggressively against the new ball and succeed. I don't think many people understand how courageous it is, because you will always get someone telling you how to play when you fail - it doesn't matter where you bat," added Chappell.
Warner is Australia's fifth-leading run-scorer in Tests with 8,695 runs at an average of 44.58, including 26 centuries in 111 matches.
The veteran batter also announced his ODI retirement while addressing reporters in the build-up to his farewell Test.
"The sandpaper incident in South Africa has colored a lot of opinions" - Ian Chappell
Ian Chapell further believes that the ball-tampering saga at Cape Town in 2018 has put several people against David Warner.
Alongside Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft, Warner was mainly involved in one of the ugliest moments in Australian cricket, resulting in severe penalties.
"The sandpaper incident in South Africa has coloured a lot of opinions and put a lot of people against David, but if anybody thinks that there were only three people involved in that sandpaper rubbish, then they believe in the Easter Bunny and Father Christmas," said Chappell.
"David, like all of us, has made mistakes, but he owns up to them. He's continued to confound people when people say he could be finished, he comes out and makes runs," he added.
Before his opening Test century, Warner had crossed the three-figure mark only once in his previous 25 Test outings.
With questions on his inclusion in the Test side becoming a hot topic in recent weeks, the champion batter even admitted to thinking of walking away from the format after the second Ashes 2023 Test.