Australia pulls Warner from T20 series against India

Melbourne — Australian opener David Warner has been withdrawn from the Twenty20 series against India after starring at the 50-over World Cup.

The lefthander was Australia’s leading scorer with 535 runs at an average of 48.63 during their run to a sixth World Cup title in India.

“Selectors decided Warner would return home on the back of a successful yet demanding World Cup campaign,” Cricket Australia said on Tuesday.

Emerging Western Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie has replaced Warner in the squad after making his ODI and T20 International debuts during the recent tour of SA.

Warner hopes to finish his Test career at his home Sydney Cricket Ground against Pakistan in January but has put his hand up for more international white-ball cricket, with the T20 World Cup coming up in 2024.

Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins and fellow fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are also heading home from India with all-rounders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh.

Matthew Wade will captain the squad for the five-match series, which starts on Thursday at Vishakhapatnam.

Fast bowler Kane Richardson has been called up as a replacement for the injured Spencer Johnson.

Just seven of Australia’s World Cup-winning squad will play the T20s, while head coach Andrew McDonald will also skip the series, handing the reins to stand-in Andre Borovec.

• Pakistan continued the overhaul of their back-room staff after failing to qualify for the knockout stages of the World Cup by appointing former international players Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal as bowling coaches on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement Gul will take over as fast bowling coach while Ajmal will be in charge of the spinners, with the duo’s first assignment the Test series against Australia starting in December.

Gul, who retired in 2020 after playing 237 international matches and claiming 427 wickets, has been involved in several mentoring stints since, including one as the bowling coach of Afghanistan in 2022.

Ajmal also has vast playing experience having represented Pakistan in 212 games and taking 447 wickets. He has also coached in the Pakistan Super League.

Morné Morkel resigned as Pakistan’s bowling coach days after they finished fifth in the World Cup standings with eight points having won four matches and lost five.

Former Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz was named Pakistan’s chief selector last week after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down and Mohammad Hafeez took over as team director in place of Mickey Arthur.

Babar Azam resigned as captain and fellow batter Shan Masood will replace him. Pace bowler Shaheen Afridi will lead the T20 side.  

Reuters