NEW DELHI: Former skipper
Ricky Ponting
on Tuesday heaped praise on the recently retired opener
David Warner
, commending his "unbelievable" career that spanned all three formats. Ponting emphasized the difficulty in finding a replacement for Warner due to the significant impact he had on Australian cricket.
Warner's international career, which lasted 15 years, concluded following Afghanistan's victory over Bangladesh in Kingstown, resulting in the elimination of Australia, the former champions, from the
T20 World Cup
at the Super Eight stage.
"(I) put my arm around him. I said, ‘...just take a moment tonight to sit back by yourself and reflect on what's been an unbelievable career across all three formats for Australia.'," Ponting said during the ICC's Digital Daily show.
“We know he retired in the summer from test cricket, but you'll struggle to find a guy that's had as big an impact on all three forms in Australian cricket than David Warner has."
The 37-year-old Warner had played under Ponting's leadership and was later coached by him as a member of the Delhi Capitals, an IPL franchise.
"I've been able to play with him, I've been able to coach him in the IPL the last couple of years, and I really enjoy his company. So, he should be very proud of what he's done," Ponting said.
Australia suffered a 24-run defeat against India in their final Super 8 match in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia on Monday night. Subsequently, Afghanistan's triumph over Bangladesh eliminated the 2021 champions from the semi-final race.
Having already bid farewell to Test cricket last year and One-Day Internationals earlier this year, Warner had declared that he would bring his international career to a close after the T20 World Cup.
As Australia prepares to embark on a new chapter without Warner,
Josh Hazlewood
, the pacer, acknowledged the challenge of filling the void left by his absence in the dressing room.
“We'll definitely miss him around the group, out in the field and off-field. (An) amazing all-format career," he said.
"It's sort of been a slow burn with Test cricket, and ODI cricket and now T20. So, life without him, we've sort of gotten used to it a little bit … it's always different when you lose a player that's been there for so long.”
Despite his retirement from all international formats, Warner had expressed his willingness to consider a return to the Australian ODI team for the Champions Trophy early next year, provided he maintains his strong performance.
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