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“It is up to the selectors to pick me,” says David Warner on his international return

Dixit Bhargav
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David Warner on his international return

David Warner on his international return: The banned Australian cricketer spoke about his return and the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League.

Banned Australia opening batsman David Warner will be seen leading Sylhet Sixers in the Bangladesh Premier League which will start from today.

Banned by Cricket Australia till the end of March, Warner will have a lot of eyes on him during the tournament. In an interview ahead of the BPL, Warner laid emphasis on performing in the BPL and the IPL (Indian Premier League) to earn an instant recall into the national side.

“It is up to the selectors whether or not they want to pick me. At the end of the day, all I can do is score runs in this tournament and the IPL, keep putting my hand up and making sure that I am the best person I can be,” Warner was quoted as saying.

Warner-led Sixers will play their first match tomorrow against Comilla Victorians, which comprises of Steven Smith. Being asked about playing against Smith in the first match, Smith said that it is not playing against one player but the whole team.

“I will just treat it as another game. It is not just taking on one player but taking on a team of eleven players. It is about making sure that our bowlers know how to get Smith out, and then tackle the rest of the guys,” Warner said.

The 32-year old southpaw also talked about the varying conditions in Bangladesh and the challenge of leading a side. “The wickets are quite low and slow. It has been tough to adapt to those conditions, but I have had a very good run of form at home and having played here [in Bangladesh] before, I know what the wicket is going to be like,” Warner added.

“So, for me it is about getting into a routine and rhythm and making sure I can lead from the front, from the top. So, it makes it easy for the guys coming in. I am extremely grateful to be leading the side. For me it is about making sure that we as a whole, including the support staff and management, can get the best out of the players.

“I have to make sure I am doing my job right, which is scoring runs and leading the guys on the park,” Warner further added.

Talking of spending time in a period when he is banned from playing international cricket, Warner said that it has made him grow as a human being and spend time with his family.

“Life has been good for me. I have been spending time with the family. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I wasn’t sitting in the sidelines. It is about getting the best out of myself and growing as a human being. My most important thing was being a father and husband at home.

“Now it is down to playing cricket again and making sure I get Sylhet Sixers on top of the table,” he concluded.

Although the final schedule of the ODI series to be played between Pakistan and Australia (tentatively in April) hasn’t been announced yet, Warner and Smith are expected to make a comeback in it ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Read some of the latest Twitter reactions on the Bangladesh Premier League below:

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Dixit Bhargav

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Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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