That was a difficult period for David Warner, says Tim Paine over his Ashes form, Usman Khawaja in contention for Pakistan series

Australia’s smashing opener David Warner has suddenly found himself on the brink of getting dropped from the Test squad. This year in IPL, Warner returned with a bang after finishing his ban due to a ball-tampering scandal in which he was involved. In IPL 2019, although his team didn’t reach finals, he finished as the top scorer of India’s mega event.

The Left-handed opener’s first national assignment was to feature for Australia in World Cup 2019 which was hosted by England. However, he gave a standout performance in that big tournament as well, where he got 647 runs in 10 innings at a brilliant average of 71.88 and got three tons and three fifties throughout the tournament. His best in the 50 over event was 166.

Just after the conclusion of World Cup 2019, Australia was involved in the Ashes in England but a sudden drop in Warner’s form made him face criticism of the fans. In urn 2019, he scored at an average of 9.50 in 5 Tests. Now, the skipper of Australia has laid down his opinion over Warner and his rival Usman Khwaja for the opening slot in Tests.

Paine opines over David Warner’s form

Tim Paine, Australian skipper feels Warner is very good and his record in Australia is exceptionally well with 15 centuries. When asked about whether he will retain his spot, Paine told in an interview to 7News that, “Opening the batting in England can be really difficult, particularly if you’re a left-hander and Stuart Broad’s bowling at you, That was a difficult period for David [but] the way he was around our group as a senior player was outstanding. It’s easy to do that when you’re going well but to have him still upbeat and still pushing others to get better when he was going through a rough patch himself was great to see.”

Australia’s next assignment is to host Pakistan for three T20Is and two Tests, and there are at least two spots in the Test team that can be grabbed up by other players. One in the middle order along with the opening spot. It looks Usman Khawaja can get back into the Team for Test series against Pakistan on the basis of his current form.

Khawaja has got 138 in the first match was followed by 112 in the second, taking his average to 125 with a strike rate of 99.60 in One-Day Cup matches against Victoria but he needs to continue his form for a longer time to impress selectors.

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