Every sportsperson dreams of calling it a day in front of his home fans and family. Few are able to do so. David Warner did. Scoring a fifty in his last Test innings added much to the swansong. Perhaps it was God’s way of giving it back to Warner. In fact, it is this swansong that will define him much more than some of the controversies that plagued his career.
Warner was faced with questions right through his career. Some said he couldn’t play Test cricket. His riposte was 111 Test caps.
Many said he couldn’t make a comeback after Sandpapergate. His response – to work the hardest and make himself so indispensable that he ended up being the Player of the Tournament in the 2021 T20 World Cup and highest scorer in the 2023 World Cup.
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As I have said before, Warner isn’t perfect. Never was, and never will be. But then, who is? He is a mortal and worked the hardest to achieve what he did. With a lovely family and serious wealth, he can well look back at his career with a tremendous sense of satisfaction.
Having known him well for more than a decade, I can say that this swansong will please Warner no end. It was the perfect finish for the imperfect cricketer. And that’s the cricket Gods’ way of rewarding a true devotee. Maybe people were harsh on him. For it is impossible to believe it was Warner and Cameron Bancroft alone who were responsible for Sandpapergate, without a buy-in from the others. And yet, Warner did not blame anyone. Like a true team man, he copped the flak. Did the hard yards and made a comeback. That’s what it is all about in sport. Fall and then rise and keep rising.
Warner will go down in the annals of world cricket as one of the greats. Perhaps an unlikely one. That’s what will make him happy. For, he defied the odds. Did so all his life and emerged triumphant.
Happy retirement, mate. Go well.
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