South Africa vs Australia 2020: David Warner hints at quitting T20I cricket to make it to the 2023 World Cup
What's the story?
Australian opener David Warner has signaled that he may end his T20I career after the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in order to stay fit for the ICC ODI World Cup in 2023. Warner said that he is motivated to play the next two T20 World Cups but will have to give up a format to keep playing for the nation in Tests and ODIs, considering the age factor.
The background
The 34-year-old David Warner made his international debut for Australia in the year 2009. In his decade-long career, the left-handed batsman has played 84 Tests, 119 ODIs, and 76 T20Is amassing over 14,000 runs across all formats. He was also a part of the Australian squad that lifted the World Cup in 2015.
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The heart of the matter
Talking to the reporters in Johannesburg ahead of Australia's first T20I against South Africa, Warner spoke about his future in international cricket. He said:
"I definitely would be motivated to go to the (2021) World Cup, it's a (short) turnaround. When you've got such a great group of guys together, and you're enjoying that journey, you don't really want to leave that. At the moment, we're in a great place as a team and I'm just really excited to be a part of it again."
Reflecting on Australia's chances of winning the T20 World Cup, he continued:
"This year will be my sixth World Cup and I definitely feel like this team we've got has the best chance of winning, particularly at home. If you manage to win on home soil, you obviously want to try and go back-to-back. That'd be an awesome feeling."
The hard-hitting opener signed off by subtly telling the cricket universe about his T20I retirement.
"But I'm 34 this year so if I want to keep playing Test and one-day cricket and get to that next one-day World Cup, something's going to have to give," he concluded.
What's next?
It will be interesting to see how David Warner performs in the two T20 World Cups. The left-handed batsman will look forward to entertaining the fans in his remaining T20I career.