David Warner has been performing well in white-ball formats for Australia, but his test performances in recent years have been average. Warner has expressed his desire to end his test career against Pakistan at the SCG, and I believe he deserves this opportunity due to his immense contributions to Australian cricket over the past 13 years. Once he leaves, there will be a gap in the Australian batting order, so let’s look at potential replacements, considering the test schedule in the next 12-24 months.
One possible replacement is Matthew Renshaw, who has demonstrated his ability to open the batting in Test cricket despite primarily playing in the middle order for the Queensland Bulls’ Sheffield Shield team. Another option is Cameron Bancroft, known for the sandpaper incident in 2018 but has shown potential in previous test matches. Additionally, Marcus Harris, who is the reserve batsman in many test squads, could also be considered.
Another dark horse candidate for the role is Henry Hunt, the current Redbacks captain from South Australia, who has consistently performed well at the domestic level and has shown promise as a future test prospect.
It is evident that there are several possibilities to replace Warner in Australia’s test side, and it remains to be seen who the selectors will opt for.