‘If you sit down and have beer with me, your opinion of me would change’- David Warner opens up on hate following 12-month ban from cricket

David Warner ranks very high among the very best modern-day cricketers in the world. His records in all forms of the game speak volumes about his talent with the bat. The southpaw has turned a little docile at the field following a 12-month ban following Australian ball-tampering at Cape Town in 2018 against South Africa. Warner however is still adored by millions around the world.

The 35-year-old recently sat down with foxsports.com.au to talk about cricket, family, and everything else going on in his life. When asked about his more relaxed approach Warner said, “I think I was always talked about, and talked into being, that aggressor, being that vocal one on the field.

“Obviously I did that because it got the best out of me, but I was also instructed to be that person, ‘it gets the team going’, and all that kind of stuff. Now it’s more about worrying about me.”

The former Australia captain insisted on being a decent bloke in person saying, “If you want to sit down to get to know me and have a beer with me, I’m sure your opinion of me would change.”

“If you don’t like me for what you see on the TV, if you’ve never met me, I’m sure there’s guys I’ve played with who will say, ‘yeah, he’s great company.”

“For me, I’ve stopped even thinking about what people think of me because, at the end of the day, I’m living my life,” said Warner when asked about the hate that he gets on social media.

Any opportunity to captain would be a privilege- David Warner

The chat soon moved to a return to captaincy for Warner. When asked if he would return to captaincy, the batter said, “I haven’t had any conversations at all (yet). But look, I think at the end of the day any opportunity to captain would be a privilege.”

“But, from my end, there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge, to have those conversations with Cricket Australia and my main focus is just actually playing cricket. At the end of the day it’s almost a completely new ball game from when 2018 happened. I would be interested to see and hear what their thoughts are and what not. And then we can probably go from there,” said Warner.