'He won't be there in Pakistan': George Bailey closes doors for David Warner's return in Champions Trophy 2025

Australia chief selector George Bailey has made it clear that David Warner is not in their plans for the Champions Trophy next year in Pakistan. Warner, who announced his retirement from international cricket after the 2024 T20 World Cup, stated that he is ready to make a U-turn on his decision if Australia consider him to be part of the CT 2025 squad. Warner's retirement didn't go as planned as his team suffered defeat to India and failed to qualify for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup.

However, he had insisted that he will keep the door open for a return for the Champions Trophy but Bailey has now clearly stated that the swashbuckling opener won't be there in Pakistan with the Australian team.

"Our understanding is that David is retired, and [he] should be commended on what has been an incredible career across all three formats. Certainly, our planning is that he won't be there in Pakistan," Bailey was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Warner scored 6,932 runs in 191 ODIs at an average of 45.30 and a strike rate of above 97, making 22 centuries and 33 fifties in 159 innings. He is the sixth-highest run-getter in ODIs for Australia.

On his remarks on making a comeback during the Champions Trophy, Bailey said that Warner might be "stirring the pot", with the team planning "to transition to some different players".

"You never know when Bull's joking…think he's just stirring the pot a bit. He's had a wonderful career, can't celebrate it enough, and think as time goes by, his legacy of what he has done for Australia and we reflect back on that, the legend of a player is only going to continue to grow," added Bailey.

"But, as far as this team goes and the journey to transition to some different players, in his case across all three formats, it's going to be exciting."

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Australia have decided to prepare for the future and will have a young squad for the upcoming limited-over series against Scotland and England.

After an underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign, Australia will be entering the transitional phase preparing for the next T20 mega event in 2026.

"I don't think there's anyone who's not there that we've put a line through permanently besides David (Warner). This is the way we are going with this squad," he continued.

However, Bailey has stated he didn't had any conversation with the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc about their T20 future.

"The next T20 World Cup is 2026, so I imagine there may be some more changes than what we are seeing in this squad. But specifically, to those guys (Starc and Maxwell), no we haven't had any conversations about where they think their T20 journey may finish," he concluded.