"What baffles me is that this guy...": Lisa Sthalekar blasts David Warner for retirement U-turn

Former Australia Women’s captain Lisa Sthalekar lashed out at the recently-retired David Warner after he made waves with his bold statement about coming out of retirement for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against India.

David Warner’s statement about being ready to don the baggy green once again, especially for the blockbuster Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against India at home, stunned the cricket world, raising a few eyebrows, including the former Women’s World Cup winner.

Lisa Sthalekar slams David Warner's return rumors Ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25

Actually, the Australia cricket team is currently struggling to lock down a reliable opening partner for Usman Khawaja in Test cricket. There is a pool of potential candidates like Cameron Bancroft, Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris, and even Josh Inglis to partner with Khawaja at the top of the order.

Recently, David Warner has declared that he is ready to step back into the Test arena has only added more drama to the mix, but Lisa Sthalekar isn’t buying it. He had said on a podcast: “I did retire for the right reasons to finish the game, and I wanted to finish. But my hand is up if they desperately need someone.

I’m not going to shy away from that. I’ve spoken to Torch (Andrew McDonald), and his answer back to me was, ‘You retired.' I don’t think he wants to give me the pleasure of him saying, ‘Can you come back?’”

With England coming out next summer, enough is enough: Lisa Sthalekar

However, the former Australian skipper was quick to call out Warner’s sudden change of heart, suggesting that the team should focus on moving forward instead of revisiting old faces. She pointed out that the Australian selectors should place their faith in emerging talent rather than relying on a retired star who has already had his time.

Lisa Sthalekar wrote in her column for The Nightly: “What baffles me is that this guy had his swansong last summer to say farewell and finish on his terms. One could argue that because of that allowance, the team is in this situation as selectors didn’t use those tests wisely to blood the next opener.”

Sthalekar added, “Therefore, Warner suggesting to answer the Mayday call if it was to come will only kick the issue down the road again. With England coming out next summer, enough is enough.”

David Warner retired earlier this year as one of the Australian legends

Notably, Warner retired from Test cricket after the recent three-match Test series against Pakistan earlier in 2024. The former left-handed batter finished his Test career with 8,786 runs and 26 centuries, including a career-best 335 not out to his name.

Australia will be hosting India in a five-match Test series, starting on November 22 in Perth. The Kangaroos have not won a home Test series against India in their last two hostings and even did not clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for more than a decade.

While the Pat Cummins-led Australian team will be aiming to end their drought against India, the tourists will be aiming to record a hat-trick of Test series wins on Australian soil later this year.