37-year-old reiterates his intention to keep playing for Australia up until the next ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean next year
Swashbuckling batsman David Warner has confirmed he won’t take up a Cricket Australia contract if offered one next year.
Warner however, who has already flagged plans to retire from Test cricket following the New Year’s match against Pakistan at the SCG in January is yet to finalise his playing plans beyond his involvement in a five-match T20 series that begins in India next Thursday (Nov 23), and then the NRMA Insurance Test series against Pakistan beginning at Perth Stadium on December 14.
He holds a contract with Dubai Capitals in the International League T20 competition that overlaps with the latter stages of BBL|13, meaning he could only play in the UAE tournament from late January after his Thunder commitments are complete.
Warner claimed his only definitive commitment beyond his final Test appearance in his home town is his brother’s wedding early in January.
Warner’s announcement prior to this year’s Ashes campaign in the UK that he would draw the curtain on his remarkable 12-year Test career led to speculation he would abandon all international duties to play for T20 franchises worldwide.
But speaking in Kolkata a day ahead of the semifinal, the 37-year-old reiterated his intention to keep playing for Australia up until the next ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean next year, and also suggested the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan remained a possibility.
However, he remains adamant he won’t take up a central contract offer from CA when the next round becomes available even if he meets the qualifying threshold of three Test or five ODI/T20 appearances.
He claimed that not only would a central contract impinge on his capacity to participate in global franchise competitions that best suit his schedule, the rewards offered by a low-ranked CA deal would be outweighed by sponsorship opportunities he could pursue as a freelance cricketer.
“I won’t be taking a contract, definitely not,” Warner said. “How the system works in Australia is that if you play five (T20) games or ODIs, or three Tests, you get upgraded and then you’re legally bound by a contracting system with sponsors and stuff.
“That’s something that becomes a bit of a pain in the backside, especially at my stage of my career.
“So I don’t want to be signed to that agreement and that’s something I have to think about moving forward, because if you’re going to get a low contract, it’s going to cost you a lot in the long run with sponsorships.
“I’ve got to sit back and have a look at what the schedule is, the (ICC) Future Tours schedule and you’ve got a Champions Trophy that’s coming up as well,” he said.
According to the ICC’s Future Tours Program released last year for the international playing calendar from 2022 to 2027, the Australia men’s team upcoming white-ball commitments (in addition to the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy) are bilateral series against Pakistan (home) and New Zealand, Afghanistan, Ireland and England (away).
But Warner claimed financial and playing considerations would take a back seat to family priorities now that his daughters (Ivy Mae, Indy Rae and Isla Rose) are starting to take part in organised sport and wife Candice has been shouldering the parenting workload for much of the past decade.
Warner pointed out that it’s his decision to retire from Test cricket that should enable him the freedom to oscillate between international representation and franchise cricket commitments.
But given the primacy Test cricket holds in Australia, he conceded it would not be a feasible option for players who wanted to continue in the red-ball format which, in turn, meant CA could rightly determine where and when their contracted players participated.
By calling time on his Test tenure, and the contractual requirements that accompany players who aspire to pull on the Baggy Green Cap, Warner says he will be best able to balance family commitments with employment as a professional cricketer.
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“I’ll have to give myself a little bit of time off after summer to actually think about all of that first,” he said of what awaits after his planned Test finale in Sydney.
“My goal is still to set my sights on playing the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean first (in June next year), and I think from there I’ll probably decide what I’m going to do with white-ball cricket.
“I’m still feeling fit. I’m very comfortable with what I’m doing. So I’ve got to sit down and look at what there is, and what I can play.”
Source:indianexpress.com