Warner may re-evaluate international future amid Covid-19 restrictions

Sydney, July 28 (IANS): Australian batsman David Warner said that the bio-security guidelines that cricketers will have to adhere to while on international tours might be an important factor for him to consider while evaluating his future in international cricket.

“Obviously three daughters and my wife, who I owe a lot to, has been a big part of my playing career,” Warner told ESPNCricinfo.

“You’ve always got to look out for your family first, and with cricket and these unprecedented times, you’ve got to weigh up these decisions.

“Look, at the moment, I’ll keep continuing to aim for that. Obviously the T20 (World Cup) is not here at home, which would have been ideal to play that and win that here. Now that gets pushed back. I will have to have a rethink about that when it comes to India.

“I’ll see where I am and where the girls are at with school as well. A lot of that is a big part of my decision. It’s not just when the games are being played and how much cricket’s being played. It’s a big family decision for myself.

“There are times when you go away and miss your family a lot and at the moment with all these biosecurity measures that are in place, we’re going to not be able to have the luxury of our families coming away with us now and it could be for the foreseeable future.”

Warner is expected to be part of the Australian side if their proposed tour of England in September goes through. The 33-year-old’s last tour of England was a happy one as it involved Australia retaining the Ashes. On a personal level however, it was a nightmare for him as he was made Stuart Broad’s bunny and managed just 110 runs in eight innings.

Broad was surprisingly dropped during England’s recent first Test against the West Indies which they lost. He ended up proving instrumental to the team’s victory in the second Test. “I think they should drop him again, I don’t know why they dropped him for that first game,” Warner laughed. “It’d be nice if I was to play over there again and he wasn’t playing. I saw he got a 50 and he’s taking some batting tips off Shane Warne, which is weird, but the way he bowls, the way he’s been bowling the last 18 months has been outstanding. I don’t know what was the reasoning behind leaving him out of that first Test, but obviously he’s come back and taken a few wickets.”