“Going to politics after cricket”: David Warner pulls Marnus Labuschagne’s leg for diplomatic answer around availability of Usman Khawaja and Matt Renshaw for BBL 12 Knockout vs Renegades

Brisbane Heat defeated Sydney Thunder in the Eliminator match of the BBL 12 to seal their place in the Knockout match, where they will be facing the Melbourne Renegades. With his defeat, Sydney Thunder are officially out of the tournament. It was a rain-curtailed game, and the audience were well entertained for sure.

Sydney Thunder opted to bowl and their bowlers were brilliant in the initial phase as Brisbane Heat could just score 64 runs in the first ten overs. However, the momentum shifted in Brisbane’s favour in the 2nd innings, where they finished their innings at 203-5. Both Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne scored excellent half-centuries.

David Warner gave a decent start to the Thunder’s innings, where they scored 52-1 after 6.5 overs. However, it started to rain after it, and the match got decided on the DLS method where Brisbane Heat were 8 runs ahead at that moment. Warner remained unbeaten at 36* runs in 20 balls.

David Warner pulls Marnus Labuschagne’s leg for diplomatic answer

During the rain break, Warner and Labushchagne had a small interaction, where Labushchagne said that he wants the rain to continue so that they can qualify for the next match, and the same happened as well. In between, Warner asked about the availability of Labushchagne, Khawaja and Matt Renshaw for the next game.

Labuschagne gave quite a diplomatic reply by saying that they are currently focussing on the current game only, and they will think about it later on. Warner took a dig at Labuschagne’s comment by asking whether he is joining politics after cricket.

“If you guys go through, are you, Usman [Khawaja] and Matthew [Renshaw] are gonna be available for the next game,” David Warner asked Marnus Labuschagne on Channel 7.

“I’ve to wait and see, we are not looking forward and staying in the game. Stay focussed on the game ahead,” Marnus Labuschagne replied.

“Are you going to politics after cricket?, Warner asked.

“Definitely not,” Labuschagne replied.

The Knockout match between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades will be played on 29th January, and the Australian team is expected to reach India on 1st February to start their preparation for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. All three of Khawaja, Labuschagne and Renshaw are part of Australia’s Border Gavaskar Trophy squad.