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Ahead of the Test series against Pakistan, Australian cricket is in the middle of a little bit of controversy thanks to Mitchell Johnson taking a jibe at his former teammate David Warner. For the unversed, Warner is set to retire from Tests at the end of the upcoming series against Pakistan. However, Johnson had written in his recent column that the opening batter didn’t deserve the farewell series at all.
“Why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrants a hero’s send-off,” Johnson wrote in his column for The West Australian criticising Warner. However, Usman Khawaja has come out in support of his opening partner in the longest format saying that not only Warner but Steve Smith too has paid the price of the mistake they committed. He also pointed out the contribution of both batters to Australian cricket over the years.
“Davey Warner and Steve Smith are heroes in my mind. They missed a year of cricket through dark times in Australian cricket but they have paid their dues. No one is perfect. Mitchell Johnson isn’t perfect. I am not perfect. Steve Smith is not perfect. David Warner isn’t perfect. What they have done for the game and to grow the game far outweighs anything else they have done.So for [Johnson] to imply that Dave Warner or anyone else involved in [the] Sandpaper [incident] is not a hero, I strongly disagree with because I believe they have paid their dues,” Khawaja said
Usman Khawaja also disagreed with Johnson’s comments on chief selector George Bailey as he said that the latter is too close to Warner and other players in the current team. “I’m not sure you can argue with that. [The criticism] is harsh,” he added. The controversy brewing with regards to this matter seems unnecessary at the moment as Australia are fresh off winning their sixth World Cup title and will be facing Pakistan in the three-match Test series starting from December 14.
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