David Warner

Regarded as one of the finest openers of the modern generation, David Warner’s career has been a roller coaster despite being a prolific run-scorer across all formats for Australia. Despite his exceptional record in all three formats of the game, his name will forever be etched in history as the one who initiated the infamous “sandpaper scandal” which rocked the cricketing world in March 2018. 

Being the vice-captain of the Australian Test team at that time, Warner along with skipper Steve Smith instructed Cameron Bancroft to apply sandpaper on the ball to get some more purchase from the ball as the Proteas were dominating the series at that point. Following the confessions of Steve Smith and David Warner, it was learned that Warner was the main architect in initiating the ball-tampering saga. He was banned by Cricket Australia for a year and was sacked from any leadership roles for life. 

It was definitely a dark phase in Warner’s career. However, the southpaw roared back strongly in the 2019 World Cup where he finished as the 2nd highest run-getter, just a solitary run behind Rohit Sharma. After a sensational World Cup, Warner had a forgettable Ashes and was bamboozled time and again by the pace and movement of Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer. 

The southpaw made his first-class debut for New South Wales against Western Australia in the final match of the 2008-09 season in March 2009. However, he had already announced his arrival in the one-day domestic circuit and smashed an unbeaten 165 against Tasmania in November 2008. He wasn’t quite consistent in his initial years especially in the first-class circuit but his fearless batting prowess urged the selectors to name him in the Australian T20 squad.  

He made his T20I debut against the Proteas despite not playing a single first-class game and made an immediate impact in his debut. He thrashed the Proteas bowling attack all around Melbourne and scored a memorable 89 of just 43 deliveries. 

The southpaw was soon drafted into the ODI squad and there was simply no looking back from thereon. After a fluent half-century in just his 2nd innings, Warner saw a dip in his form which resulted in his ouster from the squad. However, he kept churning out runs in the domestic circuit which helped him earn his place back in the squad. With the retirement of several top-order players, Warner was a frontrunner for the opening slot in the longest format. After a relatively mediocre debut, he announced his arrival in Tests with a career-defining knock-in Hobart against the Kiwis. He scored 123 on a pitch that had plenty on offer, especially for the fast bowlers. Despite being touted as a limited-overs specialist, Warner slowly but steadily started establishing himself as a prolific opening batsman in Tests. 

Over the years, Warner has established himself as one of the most important members of the Australian team. After faltering quite badly in the 2019 Ashes, Warner bounced back strongly with a knock of 335 against Pakistan, the highest Test score by an Australian in Tests. Despite his exploits all across the globe, Warner has been troubled on quite a few occasions by the raw pace and quality spin. Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad proved to be his nemesis in the previous Ashes. 

Coming to IPL cricket, The stylish left-hander made his IPL debut for the Delhi Daredevils in 2009 and went on to play for them till 2013. The switch to SRH paid rich dividends to Warner as he became the highest overseas run-scorer in the league. Warner has been the pair of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s success and it was under his leadership that SRH won their first and only IPL title to date. 

After suspension in 2018, Warner was at his ominous best in the 2019 edition and was scoring runs for fun. He forged a formidable opening stand with Jonny Bairstow which still remains a big threat for any opposition even this year. He was again with runs in the 2020 season as the franchise played the knockouts. However, after struggling with the bat in the fourteenth edition of the IPL, Warner was sacked from the captaincy and replaced by Kane Williamson, before IPL got suspended due to the bubble break. 

Warner’s form has seen some dip off late, but he is good of a batter and knows to dominate any kind of attack in any sort of conditions. That is the reason why Australia would start as a favourite for the World T20, to be held later in 2021. 

(As of June 2021)