Australia's opener David Warner bid farewell to Test and ODI cricket following the Sydney Test against Pakistan where the home side bagged an eight-wicket win, completing a 3-0 whitewash.
Warner didn’t get the chance to hit the match-winning runs in his final Test but contributed 57 as Australia easily chased down a modest target of 130 runs.
Meanwhile, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi has posted a heartfelt note for Warner where he thanked him for his services and wished the best of luck for the future.
"The game of cricket found a true ambassador in shape of David Warner. You have always brought great energy both on and off the field and it was a great challenge playing against you. Go well in the future," Shaheen posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier, Pakistan captain Shan Masood presented Babar Azam's shirt, signed by all the players, to David Warner as a token of appreciation during the post-match ceremony.
Warner had a career tally of 8,786 runs in 112 Tests at an average of 44.59 with 26 centuries since his debut against New Zealand in 2011.
“I owe credit to my parents for giving me a beautiful and great upbringing. My brother Steve, I followed in his footsteps. And then Candice [Warner’s wife] came along and sort of got me in line. We've had a beautiful family and I cherish every moment I get with them. I love them to death and I'm not going to keep carrying on because I'll get too emotional. But thank you, Candice, for what you've done. You mean the world to me, and I appreciate it,” Warner said in an emotional speech after the match.
“I think it'd be quite emotional to watch the guys go out there and not play and knowing that I was able to come out here and do what I could do. But as I just mentioned you got a great bunch of cricketers here. We are all almost over 30 years of age. So as time goes by, we're not getting younger, but this team, they're energetic, they're world class and they're a great bunch of guys.
“[Would like to be remembered as] exciting, entertaining, and I hope I put a smile on everyone's face with the way that I played and hopefully the young kids out there can follow in my footsteps.
“White ball cricket to Test cricket. It's the pinnacle of our sport. So keep working hard to play the red ball game because it's entertaining as well."
- David Warner
- Shaheen Afridi
