Diminutive but destructive Australia opening batter David Warner has confirmed that he will quit one-day internationals along with Test cricket - the third Test of the ongoing Australia vs Pakistan series will be his last game in the format. The 37-year-old has, however, kept the possibility of playing the 2025 Champions Trophy open, if form and fitness permit.
Warner also said that while he will walk into the sunset after the Sydney Test, he was ready to retire after the Ashes Test at Lord's if he didn't score runs. "I said quite clearly in England before the World Test Championship, there was a lot of talk about me and my form, [and] I wanted to nip it in the bud early, I said my ideal preparation to finish would be Sydney," Warner at the pre-match press conference in Sydney.
"But I actually had Lord's penciled in as my last Test, especially if I didn't go as well as I did as a partnership with Uzzie [Usman Khawaja] at the top of the order," Warner admitted.
"Then from there it just followed on that we played some good innings together. I didn't have that hundred [in England] that I always wanted but it eluded me. But as a team and as a whole we did our bit, so to get this ending is awesome, but it's not about me, it's about us. We've won the series, but to win 3-0 and have a whitewash here at the SCG would be a great thing for the team," he added.
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Warner has scored 6,932 runs in 161 ODIs in his career at an average of 45.30. His strike rate is impressive at 97.26. With 22 centuries and 33 half-centuries, Warner was considered one of the most devastating batters of his time.
"I've got to give back to the family and also on the back of that I'm definitely retiring from one-day cricket as well. That was something that I had said through the (2023) World Cup, get through that, and winning it in India, I think that's a massive achievement," the southpaw said.
“So I'll make that decision today, to retire from those forms, which does allow me to go and play some other (Twenty20) leagues around the world and sort of get the one-day team moving forward a little bit," Warner said.
"I know there's a Champions Trophy coming up," he added. "If I'm playing decent cricket in two years' time and I'm around and they need someone, I'm going to be available," he added.
Warner will remain an active international cricketer in the shortest format and is one game away from registering 100 appearances in all three formats of the game. He is expected to turn out next at the International League T20 with the Dubai Capitals.
