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.
1/8:T20 World Cup: Afghanistan into semi-finals, Australia out
AP
2/8:Historic Semi-Final Entry for Afghanistan
Afghanistan advanced to their first-ever senior world tournament semi-final with a nerve-jangling eight-run victory over Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup on Tuesday that eliminated mighty Australia.AP
3/8:Nerve-Jangling Victory
Amid excruciating tension, captain Rashid Khan and seamer Naveen ul Haq were the heroes as Afghanistan battled through three rain stoppages to secure a famous victory.AP
4/8:Heroic Performances
Defending a modest total of 115/5, Rashid finished with figures of 4-23 while Naveen took 4-26 as Bangladesh were dismissed for 105, chasing a revised target of 114 off 19 overs.AP
5/8:Litton Das' innings
An unbeaten 54 from Bangladesh opener Litton Das (49 balls, five fours, one six) threatened to deny Afghanistan's fairytale win and earn Australia the last semi-final spot.AP
6/8:Man of the Match Naveen-ul-Haq
But pacer Naveen claimed the last two wickets - Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman - off consecutive deliveries to trigger delirious Afghan celebrations and leave a disconsolate Das stranded.AP
7/8:Elimination of Australia
With India defeating Australia and advancing to the second semi-final against England, this result assured the Afghans of second spot in the group and eliminated the Aussies and Bangladeshis.IANS
8/8:Semi-Final Clash
Afghanistan will now face South Africa in the first semi-final in Trinidad on Thursday.AFPHaving 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.
