Australia team’s national selector George Bailey confirmed that David Warner will not be considered for the Champions Trophy 2025. Warner had announced his retirement from all formats and kept the door open to play the ICC event.
David Warner retires for Australia cricket. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
- David Warner announces retirement from international cricket for Australia
- George Bailey confirms Warner will not be considered for Champions Trophy 2025
- Despite retirement, Warner had kept doors open for participation in Champions Trophy
The Australian team’s national selector, George Bailey, confirmed that David Warner will not be considered for the squad for Champions Trophy 2025. Warner retired from all formats of the game for Australia after the T20 World Cup 2024. His last match for Australia was against India when the Mitchell Marsh-led side lost by 24 runs. Australia failed to qualify for the semi-final stage of the tournament, which meant the end of the road for Warner in his international career. However, Warner kept the doors open to appear in next year’s Champions Trophy, which will be played in Pakistan.
Bailey said that Warner was considered fully retired and appreciated him for the legacy which he left behind as an all-format player. Despite the retirement, Warner had hinted in a social media post that he would be available for selection. “I will continue to play franchise cricket for a while, and I am also open to playing for Aus in the Champions trophy if selected,” Warner said in the Instagram post, as he will continue to play franchise cricket.
No Warner for Champions Trophy?
“Our understanding is that David is retired, and [he] should be commended on what has been an incredible career across all three formats,” Bailey said. “Certainly, our planning is that he won’t be there in Pakistan,” Bailey said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“You never know when Bull’s jokingâ€æthink he’s just stirring the pot a bit. He’s had a wonderful career, can’t celebrate it enough, and think as time goes by, his legacy of what he has done for Australia, and we reflect on that, the legend of a player is only going to continue to grow. But as far as this team goes and the journey to transition to some different players, in his case across all three formats, it’s going to be exciting.”
Players like Jake Frazer-McGurk have given their audition as true successors of Warner. The 37-year-old southpaw had retired from Tests and ODIs after the three-match Test series against Pakistan in January earlier this year. His last ODI appearance was against India when Australia lifted the ODI World Cup 2023.
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Bailey also said that the selectors were not moving on from the other players in white-ball cricket even as they look to shift focus towards the future. with Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell being rested from the T20Is.
“Certainly for Glenn and Mitch, the Champions Trophy is very much on the horizon, [and is a] very important tournament for those guys. And Starcy in particular, I think he’s going to have a huge summer. Clearly, some of the decisions made around this series are around prioritising and getting guys right for what will be a really big summer. As far as ending players, seeing where guys might finish up, we haven’t had those conversations.”