David Warner was given a role by his coaches and he was just acting accordingly keeping his team ahead, claims his Australia teammate and close friend Usman Khawaja defending the retiring stars fierce on-field demeanour.
Warner was known for his feisty nature for he major part of his international career that resulted in a host of controversies ranging from punching England star Joe Root to role in ball-tampering scandal that resulted in a one-year ban.
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Warner will retire from Test cricket after the conclusion of the ongoing series against Pakistan at home with Sydney contest being the last of his glittering career.
Khawaja says Warner’s in-your-face attitude was to help his team and he was instructed to do so by the coaching staff.
“For a long period of time there, he was in people’s faces… but that wasn’t always Davey,” Khawaja was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
“He was also getting told to play a certain way by the coaching staff. He’s such a team player. If you ask him to do something, he’ll just do it for the team. He’ll do anything that he needs to do for the team to win a game … he’s always put himself second and put the team first.
“Back in the day, if coaches or senior players asked him to get into the contest and sledge the other teams, he’d do it. He’s always put himself second in those situations. He doesn’t have to do it. He doesn’t have to go out and do it, but he wants to do it because he wants to help the team,” he added.
Following the ball-tampering saga of 2018, Warner returned a different person on the field, a fact acknowledged by Khawaja.
“You’ve seen a very different David Warner since he’s come back after 2019,” Khawaja said. “He’s been great. He’s scored runs. He’s done it his own way. He’s played the game in a really good way. He’s enjoyed it. You could tell he’s smiling a lot on the field. He’s doing it David Warner’s way, which has been really good to see in the last half of his career.”
Khawaja is happy Warner is retiring on his own terms while playing in front of his home fans but admits it will be sad not playing together with his close friend again.
“It’s nice to see him leave on a high,” Khawaja said. “It’s his Test. It’s really good to be a part of it. He’s been such an amazing cricketer for Australian cricket for so long. It’s nice for him to go out on his own terms in front of his home crowd, in front of family and friends. I couldn’t think of a better way for him to go.
“It’s really good to watch that people are getting around him because I believe he deserves it. I really do. It’s nice to see people give him the accolades he deserves and seeing him go out on a high on his home ground. We won’t get to play (together) again after this, and it will be sad. We’ll definitely be sad,” he added.
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