AUS vs WI: Blow For DC! David Warner To Miss ILT20 Games For West Indies T20Is

Australia men’s cricket team chief selector George Bailey believes veteran left-handed batsman David Warner will be available to play the T20I series against West Indies in February. Warner recently announced retirement from the Test and ODI format and played his last Test match against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Australia vs West Indies T20I series is set to clash with the ILT20 in which David Warner is contracted to play for the Dubai Capitals as skipper. Warner is currently playing for his Big Bash League franchise Sydney Thunder and shall travel to UAE to play the ILT20, which is set to start on January 20. However, he is set to miss the ILT20 matches to play for Australia against West Indies in the T20I series.

After the T20I series against West Indies, the Aussies will tour New Zealand for a T20I series starting on February 21, 2024. David Warner holds an Australian central contract and will be returning for the T20I series against New Zealand.

George Bailey Confident Of David Warner’s Availability In T20Is

Australia’s chief selector George Bailey stated that David Warner is set to get selected for the West Indies tour and will also play the 2024 T20 World Cup for the country.

George Bailey said, “He’ll be part of those T20 matches at the back end of the summer and in New Zealand as well.”

George Bailey had earlier stated that the Cricket Australia contracted players will not be granted NOCs to play in other cricketing leagues until June this year. David Warner is a centrally contracted player in Australia until June month.

George Bailey said, “I think that’s the same with all our Australian contracted players. If they’re going to be selected in a squad then they’re available. If they’re not then it depends on what sort of domestic cricket responsibilities they have. So I think [Warner] had flagged that as potentially one of the reasons why he has made the decision to retire from one-day cricket but we’re still really excited about what he can provide for that T20 team and hoping he can add one more major trophy to his cabinet.”

David Warner was part of Australia‘s T20 World Cup winning side in the year 2021, which was held in the UAE. The Aussies have been in brilliant form in the ICC tournaments for the last few years and won the WTC and the ODI World Cup last year.

David Warner said a brilliant goodbye to Test and ODI cricket and played a major role in Australia’s 3-0 win over Pakistan in the three-match Test series. Warner played an innings of 164 runs in the first Test match played in Perth.

The Aussies will want to continue their golden run in the ICC events and add yet another ICC trophy to their cabinet. The T20 World Cup 2024 is set to be held in the USA and West Indies from June 2, 2024. Australia are part of Group B, which consists of teams such as England, Oman, Scotland, and Namibia. Australia’s first match of the tournament will be against Oman on June 5, 2024.

Getting back to the tournament, Australia, England, and India are hot favourites to win the tournament whereas Pakistan and South Africa are also the outside contenders to win the tournament.