David Warner summoned by Andrew McDonald to return Australia midway in ILT20 2024

Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald has summoned David Warner to snub the Dubai Capitals in the ongoing 2nd edition of the International League T20 (ILT20) and return to Australia next month for their upcoming T20I series against West Indies which will begin days after the conclusion of a 3-match ODI series to be followed after the Test series.

The Aussies are due to play the final Test match against the West Indies on January 25th at the Gabba in Brisbane after securing a comfortable win in the 1st Test in Adelaide. The World Champions are currently in relentless form and are on the verge of claiming back-to-back red-ball series wins.

They had whitewashed Pakistan by 3-0 in the Benaud-Qadir trophy which was also the farewell Test series of David Warner. The left-hand pocket-size dynamite played his last red-ball match at the Sydney cricket ground, scoring 57 in the 2nd innings as Australia completed the drubbing over Shan Masood’s side by 8 wickets.

Since David Warner’s retirement, the topic of his replacement was doing the rounds in the Australian cricketing fraternity and it was finally answered in the 1st Test against West Indies. Steve Smith walked out with Usman Khawaja but wasn’t able to create an impact right off as he departed for 12 in the 2nd inning before remaining not out for 11 in the 4th.

“We’re very comfortable with Smudge (Smith) at the top of the order, and seeing (allrounder) Cameron Green back out there in the field with ball and bat in hand was great.” – McDonald said after the 1st Test.

As David Warner retired from the longest format, he also announced his retirement from the ODI format but remains available for the T20I setup and his next assignment in terms of ICC events is the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June.

The Test and ODI world champion was a part of the Aussie team that won the T20 WC in UAE back in 2021 and in his own words, he had claimed that he wants to be a part of another World Cup winning side in the shortest format.

David Warner In Andrew McDonald’s Plans For West Indies And New Zealand T20I Series

Andrew McDonald revealed that the Australians who are taking part in the ILT20 in UAE are slated to return to their homeland by the 7th of next month. They will then start preparing for the final phase of the West Indies tour of Australia with a 3-match series in the shortest format.

The Baggy Greens will then play another 3 T20Is in New Zealand which will be their final stage of preparation for the 20-team T20 WC. While Australia’s T20 squad against West Indies is expected to be a little “nuanced”, McDonald has claimed that a full strength team will play against the Blackcaps in which David Warner could be a key player as well.

“I think most of our players that are going over there are due back on the 7th in preparation for the T20 in Hobart against West Indies. So Davey will be a part of those plans. We’ll look to be at full strength for the New Zealand series, we’ve got six games before the World Cup, a lot of the World Cup planning is in place at the moment.” – McDonald concluded.