Australia’s chief selector, George Bailey, confirmed on Monday (July 15) that veteran batter David Warner will not be considered for next year’s Champions Trophy, despite Warner’s declaration of availability for the ICC event “if selected.” Warner, whose international career ended after Australia’s exit from the T20 World Cup, had hinted at a possible comeback in a social media post last week, expressing gratitude to fans, teammates, and support staff.
Bailey, however, made it clear that the selectors have moved on from Warner. “Our understanding is that David is retired, and he should be commended for his incredible career across all three formats,” Bailey said. “You never know when Bull’s joking… think he’s just stirring the pot, reports Live Cricket Score.
“He’s had a wonderful career, can’t celebrate it enough, and I think as time passes, his legacy of what he has done for Australia will only grow. But as far as this team goes and the journey to transition to some different players, in his case across all three formats, it will be exciting.”
However, Bailey clarified that the national team doors were not closed for Ashton Agar and Matthew Wade, who were left out of the squads for the white-ball series in the UK. Even Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell, who were picked only for the ODI leg of that tour, aren’t out of contention for the next T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in 2026.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who’s not there that we’ve put a line through permanently besides David,” Bailey said. “This is the way we are going with this squad. If opportunities arise or there are gaps at different points, there’s nothing to say that Wadey might not come back, but certainly, at this point, we are excited about giving Josh [Inglis] a run.
“The next T20 World Cup is 2026, so I imagine there may be some more changes than what we see in this squad, but specifically to those guys [Starc and Maxwell], we haven’t had any conversations about where they think their T20 journey may finish.
“Certainly for Glenn and Mitch, the Champions Trophy is on the horizon, [and is a] very important tournament for those guys. And Starcy, in particular, I think he will have a huge summer. Some of the decisions around this series are about prioritizing and getting guys right for a big summer. We haven’t had those conversations regarding ending players’ careers and seeing where guys might finish up.”
Reflecting on Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign, which fell apart in successive defeats to Afghanistan and India, Bailey opined that there was no need to overhaul the team but to strengthen it with younger, high-potential players like Jake Fraser-McGurk and Cooper Connolly, who’ve been picked for the upcoming assignments.
“I still think that T20 side, the foundation of it, is a good team,” he said. “It didn’t feel like we needed to rip it apart and start from scratch completely. But it’s also a great opportunity to explore other guys. Cooper’s one who hasn’t had an opportunity, and several guys have been on some tours and played one or two games but haven’t had much opportunity yet. So excited to see them get a bit more of an opportunity and work out how they fit into that team or squad.”
Bailey also praised Mitchell Marsh, the captain of that squad, who will lead both the white-ball formats with ODI captain Pat Cummins, who rested ahead of the big home summer featuring a visit from India. “I loved how he captained through the T20 World Cup,” Bailey said.
“He was really clear on how he wanted to lead that team. He was as disappointed as anyone that we didn’t get to the end goal everyone hoped to achieve, but if you look at his early success rate as a captain across T20, he’s done a great job.”
