David

Warner

David Warner Biography and Career

David Warner is a former Australian batsman and captain who played international cricket for close to 15 years and was the first player in the 132-year history of Australian cricket to be selected for the national team without playing first-class cricket. He came into the team as a T20 specialist but became a full-bloom all-format batsman and multiple World Cup champion.

However, Warner’s career will forever be overshadowed by the one moment of controversy wherein he came out as the chief protagonist of the ball-tampering scandal in Newlands and was suspended by Cricket Australia for a year from both international and domestic cricket. But, there is little doubt that Warner is a legend of Australian cricket and will go down as one of the best all-format batsmen to ever play the game of cricket.

Born in October 1986, Warner took to cricket at a young age. He was asked to switch to right-handed batting by his coach, but he didn’t budge. As it turned out later in his career, the reverse sweep and the switch hit became one of Warner’s most productive shots. He always had a bit of an issue with his temper and was once even sent back home from a rookie tour.

However, Warner soon found his bearings and made his international debut in a T20I against South Africa in January 2009. Known as the Bull, he smashed 89 off just 43 balls in his first game, the then second-quickest fifty in T20I cricket. He soon made his ODI debut as well, and was selected by Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. But, pigeonholed as a white-ball specialist, largely due to his inability to play the conventional defensive shot, it took him nearly three years to make his Test debut.

But, Warner showed his red-ball prowess by smashing a century on his Test debut against New Zealand where he carried his bat. In 2012, he crashed a 69-ball century against India in Perth which at the time was the fourth-fastest hundred in Test cricket. Soon enough, Warner became Australia’s designated opener across all three formats of the game.

Warner was a key player in Australia’s 2015 ODI World Cup-winning campaign. In one of the innings, he smashed 178 off 133 balls against Afghanistan, which is his highest ODI score. In 2019, Warner became just the seventh Australian batsman to smash a triple century in Test cricket. He amassed an unbeaten 335 against Pakistan at Adelaide Oval, the second-highest score by an Australian batsman in the format.

Warner was the player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup 2021, which Australia won for the very first and so far the only time. He is one of three Australian players to have scored a century in all three formats of cricket and has a total of 49 international hundreds to his name. In 2016, Warner led Australia for the first time in international cricket when Steven Smith was rested for an ODI series. Australia have won all five matches in which Warner has captained.

Warned called time on his international career in 2024. Right before his retirement, he was part of the Australian side that won the ODI World Cup in India in 2023. He was a vital member of the team which won the 2023 World Test Championship.

The ball-tampering scandal

Warner’s career was riddled with controversies right from the start to the end. As much of a stellar player he was on field, he often found himself on the other side of the law outside of it.

In March 2018, during a Test at the Newlands, in South Africa, the cameras caught Australia fielder Cameron Bancroft trying to scrape the ball with sandpaper and then quickly trying to hide it in his trousers when the cameras panned on him. Smith, the captain at the time, and Warner, the vice-captain were pulled up by the match referee the same evening. Smith admitted that the leadership group had discussed tampering the ball in order to get more swing out of it.

Cricket Australia launched an investigation and what followed was public humiliation to the core for Warner and the rest of the Australian team. He cried on national television admitting his mistake, was banned for a year by CA and stripped of his vice-captaincy duties by the board. In addition, he lost a number of sponsorship deals with even the Prime Minister of the country taking to social media to express his concerns about how the entire incident played out.

Warner made a comeback to the national team after a year, but was often subjected to boos and taunts in stadiums all over the world.

Other controversies

In 2013, Warner was dropped from the Australian Champions Trophy squad after an alleged fight with England batsman Joe Root. He was also fined 7000 GBP. Later in the year, he was involved in an on-field altercation with South Africa wicket-keeper Thami Tsolekile.

In 2018, during a Test match in Durban, CCTV cameras caught Warner having a massive altercation with South African wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock when the players were walking back to their respective change rooms for tea. De Kock had allegedly made a derogatory statement about Warner’s wife, which enraged him and the two almost came to blows.

Warner in the IPL

Warner is one of the most successful overseas players in the history of IPL. Warner started his career with Daredevils, where he played for five seasons. He moved to SRH in 2014, and led the franchise to IPL glory in 2016. He was with them for seven seasons, but had an acrimonious exit in 2021 and was even blocked by the franchise’s social media handles.

Warner has the most runs for an overseas batsman in the IPL, has the most fifties in the league and is the only player in the history of the tournament to have won the Orange Cap three times. Warner scored more than 500 runs in each season from 2014 to 2020, which is a record.

He played for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022, 2023 and 2024 but went unsold at the 2025 auctions.

Warner still plies his trade in several T20 competitions all over the world. He recently led Sydney Thunder to the Big Bash League final in 2025. Thunder lost in the final to Hobart Hurricanes, but Warner's leadership was lauded.

Beyond cricket

Warner married former Ironwoman  and model Candice Fazlon in an intimate ceremony in April 2015 and has three daughters Ivy-Mae, Indi-Rae and Isla Rose. 

Warner has an eccentric personality and that’s very much visible on his social media profile. He has built a big fan base in India and his connection with the audience is superb. Warner has often been seen dancing on reels of famous Telugu and Hindu songs and recently even did an ad shoot with famous director SS Rajamouli for CRED. 

Warner has close to 10.7 million followers on Instagram and 2.7 million followers on Twitter (now X). He endorses a number of brands as well such as ASICS, LG, KFC, Wakefit, CRED, Channel Nine, Toyota, Pepsi and MRF Tyres. 

He is also an avid horseracing fan and currently owns six horses. Warner has won the prestigious Alan Border medal twice. 

Records 

David Warner Domestic records

• In 2009, Warner set a new record for the quickest fifty in the Australian domestic T20 cricket competition, reaching his half-century off just 18 balls against Tasmania
• In 2009, he became the first Australian cricketer in 132 years, to make his international debut without playing first-class cricket

David Warner ODI records

• Warner is the first Australian batsman to score seven ODI centuries in a calendar year. He achieved the feat in 2016
• Warner was Australia’s highest run-scorer in the 2019 ODI World Cup

David Warner Test records

• Warner is the first-ever batsman to score three Test centuries at the famous WACA stadium, in Perth
• He is one of three batsmen to score a century in each innings of a Test match three times
• Warner  is one of five cricketers to have scored a century before lunch on the first day of a Test match
• He holds the record for the second-fastest fifty in Test cricket, a feat he achieved in 2017
• He is one of six Australian cricketers to have back-to-back centuries in Asia
• Warner is the first and so far only batsman to have scored a triple century at Adelaide Oval
• He holds the record for the second-highest score by an Australian batsman after Matthew Hayden - 335*
• Warner has been dismissed 17 times by England fast bowler Stuart Broad. This is the most times a batsman has been dismissed by any bowler in the history of Test cricket

David WarnerT20I records

• Warner is the highest run-scorer for Australia in their T20I history
• He was Australia’s highest run-getter in the 2021 T20 World Cup which they won in the UAE

David Warner IPL records

• Warner has the most runs for any overseas batsman in the history of IPL
• No other batsman has more fifties in the IPL than Warner
• He has scored 500 runs or more in seven seasons of the IPL, which is a record
• Warner is the only batsman to have won the Orange cap award three times
• Warner was SRH's first centurion in the league
• He scored 848 runs in IPL 2016, which is the third-most tally of runs for a batsman in a single IPL season
• With more than 4000 runs, Warner is the comfortably the highest run-scorer for SRH in the IPL
• Warner has the second-most runs for Delhi Capitals in their history, behind Rishabh Pant

David Warner's Other international records

• Warner is one of five players to have won an ICC Trophy in all three formats of the game – ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship