Australia legend Ricky Ponting has opined that David Warner missed the opportunity to end his Test career in a perfect manner and is now set for an ugly departure from the longest format of the game.
The former Australia skipper’s comments came just few days after Warner’s disastrous tour of India came to an early end due to an elbow injury. The southpaw was ruled out of the second Test in Delhi due to concussion before an elbow injury ruled him out of the remainder of the four-match series.
Prior to the injury, the veteran opener endured yet another miserable outing in Tests in India. He played knocks of 1, 10 and 15 in three innings as Australia suffered crushing defeats in both the games. The poor outing in India has only extended Warner’s recent struggles in the Test arena.
Barring the double-century against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test a couple of months, the southpaw has not played any big knock in Tests in recent months. In his last 15 Tests innings, he has crossed the 50-run score just once which was the double century.
Ricky Ponting on David Warner’s Test career:
With David Warner’s Test career not going on the right track, Ricky Ponting feels that his former teammate is set to bid an ugly goodbye to Tests. With neither form nor age on his side, many believe that it is the end of road for the 36-year old in red-ball cricket.
Fans and experts believe that he would not be picked in the Australia squad for this year’s Ashes in England. The last time Australia went to England for the Ashes in 2019, Warner had a disastrous outing. He averaged just 9.5 runs across the five Tests with three ducks as Stuart Broad dismissed him seven times.
Ponting said that while Warner could make it to the squad for the WTC final, should Australia qualify, he is unlikely to play the Ashes.
“I think I’ve heard him talk before about their cycle. This current cycle will finish after the World Test Championship, which is obviously the week before the first Ashes Test and I would think all going well that they want to get David through until the end of that Test match at least,” Ricky Ponting told RSN.
“It’s up to him though. The only currency you have as a batsman is runs and if you’re not scoring any you leave yourself open.
“It’s happened to all of us, it happened to me. When you get to a certain age and it looks like your form is dropping off slightly, then the knives are sharpened and it doesn’t take long.
“For him to finish the way he deserves to finish, the obvious thing for me was maybe to pull the pin after Sydney. He got 200 in Melbourne, played his 100th Test, played his 101 Test in Sydney, his home ground and maybe finish there.
“The last thing he deserved is to be away on a tour and get in to the middle of a series and get dropped and his career is over. That would be an awful way for him to finish. He’s a driven little man, a pretty stubborn little bugger, so we’ll see how he goes,” he added.
Meanwhile, Warner will return to India soon for the three-match ODI series later this month. Following the series, he will lead Delhi Capitals in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).