ICC World Cup 2019: Shane Warne backs David Warner to be the Player of the Tournament

It’s almost been a year since the shambolic ball-tampering scandal at the Newlands in Cape Town, but the memories, involving Steve Smith and David Warner, haven’t faded away by any means, especially among the Australian cricket fraternity. The duo’s one-year suspension is scheduled to end this month, after which the stalwarts would be eligible to don the national jersey.

They are currently recovering from elbow injuries that they sustained during the sixth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Smith and Warner weren’t included in the ODI squad for the five-match series, which is scheduled to start on Friday, March 22. However, the tainted pair is expected to make a comeback in the World Cup set to get underway on Thursday, May 30.

In the meantime, Shane Warne, the former Australian cricketer, reckons Smith and Warner would come out as better individuals and would now prefer their willows do all the talking. Moreover, Warne also backed Warner to emerge as the Player of the Tournament in the mega event in England and Wales.

Warner overstepped the line a lot in his early career

“I think what you are going to see is a pretty quiet David Warner and Steve Smith. They are just going to try and let their bat do the talking and toe the line. I think they will come back better than they were. They’re going to come out and destroy attacks and I back David Warner to be the player of the World Cup,” Warne was quoted as saying The Telegraph.

“Warner overstepped the line a lot in his early career. He then changed into a more placid player but was then told by Cricket Australia to be the enforcer and was doing what he was told,” he added.

Warne also had to encounter the wrath of a one-year suspension owing to doping violations. Subsequently, he missed playing the 2003 World Cup in the African continent that the Aussies won under the leadership of Ricky Ponting. He went down the memory lane and talked about how he was itching to make a comeback on the pitch following his ban.

“All I can go on is experience having a year off myself. The next four years were the best I ever had. I was hungry for the game. My body and mind were fresh and it is amazing how excited you are to play again. You get excited just going to the nets again because you have taken it for granted in the past,” the veteran leggie remarked.

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