'Open to playing in Champions Trophy 2025' - David Warner makes bombshell announcement while confirming retirement

David Warner, on Monday (July 8), confirmed his retirement from international cricket after playing for Australia at the highest stage of the game for well over a decade.

The veteran batsman's glittering career in international cricket came to an end last month after Australia's shock loss against Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. At the beginning of this year, the left-handed batsman had retired from Tests as well as ODIs.

The World Cup final against India in November was his last game in the 50-over format while the Sydney Test against Pakistan was his last Test. He continued to ply his trade in T20s before playing his last game for Australia in the format last month.

On Monday, he took to Instagram to confirm that his international career is now a closed chapter. The veteran batsman said that representing Australia in more than 100 games in all the formats is the highlight of his career before thanking his family, fans and well-wishers for their support.

"Chapter closed!! It’s been an unbelievable experience to play at the highest level for such a long period. Australia was my team. The majority of my career was at the international level. It’s been an honour to be able to do this. 100+ games in all formats is my highlight," wrote David Warner.

"I want to say thanks to everyone out there who has made this possible. My wife and my girls, who sacrificed so much, thank you for all your support. No person will ever know what we’ve been through.

"For all the cricket fans out there, I truly hope I have entertained you and changed cricket, especially tests, in a way where we scored a bit faster than others 😂😂. We cannot do what we love without the fans, so thanks," he added.

David Warner available for Champions Trophy:

While David Warner confirmed his retirement from international cricket, he has kept the doors open for his participation in next year's ICC Champions Trophy. The southpaw confirmed that he would be open to playing for Australia in the tournament if he is selected. The Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in February next year in Pakistan. He also said that he would continue playing franchise cricket for a while.

"I will continue to play franchise cricket for a while, and I am also open to playing for Aus in the Champions trophy if selected," wrote David Warner.

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Warner was instrumental in Australia's ODI World Cup win in India last year. He had finished the tournament as Australia's highest run-scorer, scoring 535 runs in 11 games with the help of two centuries and as many half-centuries. With the Champions Trophy to be played in similar conditions, Australia might be tempted to include him in the team for the marquee event.

Warner made his debut for Australia in 2009 even before playing any first-class or List-A game. He started his journey in international cricket as a T20I specialist before becoming a key member of the team across formats.

He represented Australia in 112 Tests, 161 ODIs, and 110 T20Is, scoring over 18,000 runs with the help of 49 centuries and 98 half-centuries.