Warner makes low-key exit from international cricket after Afghans beat Bangladesh in T20 WC
Kingstown, Jun 25: Australia batting great David Warner's 15-year-long international career, dotted with glorious achievements and controversies in equal measure, has come to an anti-climactic end after Afghanistan beat Bangladesh, eliminating the former champions from the T20 World Cup at the Super Eight phase.
Australia, the 2021 champions, finished at third place in the Super 8s Group 1 table with just two points -- from the win against Bangladesh. They had suffered a shocking loss to Afghanistan and a humbling defeat to India.
The 37-year-old Warner, who made his international debut in January 2009 in a T20I match, thus made a low-key exit from international cricket with Australia's 24-run loss to India on June 24 at Gros Islet being his last match.
There was no guard of honour or standing ovation, befitting one of Australia's all-time great batters. He made six runs off six balls in the match, edging Arshdeep Singh as Suryakumar Yadav took a low catch. He walked off the pitch with his head down, not knowing whether that was his last game.
Warner's retirement has been gradual. He played his final ODI match in the World Cup final win over India in November 2023 and his last Test against Pakistan in January. He has long signalled that this T20 World Cup would be his final tournament.
He retires as Australia's highest scorer and seventh-most prolific batter in the world in T20 format with 3,277 runs from 110 matches, at an average of 33.43 and strike rate of 142.47. He scored one hundred and 28 fifties in the shortest format.
From 112 Tests, he has scored 8,786 runs at an average of 44.59 with 26 hundreds and 37 fifties between 2011 and 2024.
He also scored 6,932 runs from 161 ODI matches at an average of 45.30 with the help of 22 centuries and 33 half centuries.
Warner, who has 49 centuries across formats and close to 19,000 runs in international cricket, had acknowledged that his name will forever be linked to the sandpaper gate scandal that took place at Newlands, Cape Town during a Test match against South Africa in 2018.
Warner's involvement in the scandal in the Newlands Test, when Cameron Bancroft used sandpaper to scuff the ball earned him a one-year ban, the same punishment as that of the-then skipper Steven Smith.
Warner was also banned for life from taking any leadership role in the Australian cricket setup.
"I think it's going to be inevitable that when people talk about me in 20 or 30 years' time, there will always be that sandpaper scandal," he said last week at North Sound ahead of Australia's Super 8 clash against Bangladesh.
"But for me, if they're real cricket tragics and they love cricket, (as well as) my closest supporters, they will always see me as that cricketer - someone who tried to change the game.
"Someone who tried to follow in the footsteps of the openers before me and try and score runs at a great tempo and change Test cricket in a way."
Warner was also a part of the IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad from 2014 till 2021, and led the franchise to its only title in 2016.
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India, New Zealand ink free trade agreement
New Delhi (PTI): India and New Zealand on Monday inked a free trade agreement, aimed at boosting two-way commerce and investments.
The pact was signed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and visiting New Zealand's Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay.
The FTA provides duty-free access for 100 per cent of India's exports to New Zealand, covering all tariff lines or produce categories, and is expected to significantly boost MSMEs and employment by enhancing competitiveness in labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, and processed foods.
Earlier, New Zealand maintained peak tariffs of up to 10 per cent on key Indian exports, including ceramics, carpets, automobiles, and auto components.
With zero-duty market access from entry into force as New Zealand's other trade partners, Indian products will be fully competitive in that country, enjoying a level playing field.
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Significantly, India also secured duty-free inputs for its manufacturing sector, including wooden logs, coking coal, and waste and scraps of metals, lowering production costs and enhancing the global competitiveness of the Indian industry.
On the other hand, India has offered tariff liberalisation on 70.03 per cent of tariff lines covering 95 per cent of bilateral trade value, while keeping 29.97 per cent of tariff lines excluded to protect India's sensitive sectors.
The products that are kept in exclusion are mainly -- dairy (milk, cream, whey, yoghurt, cheese etc.), animal products (other than sheep meat), agricultural products (onions, chana, peas, corn, almonds), sugar, artificial honey, animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils, arms and ammunition, gems and jewellery, copper and articles thereof (cathodes, cartridges, rods, bars, coils), aluminium and articles thereof (ingots, billets, wire bars) among others.
On 30 per cent of tariff lines of New Zealand, India will provide duty elimination on goods such as wood, wool, sheep meat, and leather-raw hides.
Similarly, 35.60 per cent of tariff lines are subject to phased elimination over 3, 5, 7, and 10 years, including petroleum oil, malt extract, vegetable oils, selected electrical and mechanical machinery, and peptones.
New Zealand products which enjoy tariff reductions include wine, pharmaceutical drugs, polymers, aluminum, iron and steel articles, and goods that only 0.06 per cent fall under tariff rate quotas, including Manuka honey, apples, kiwi fruit, and albumins, including milk albumin.
The FTA also includes a commitment to facilitate USD 20 billion in investment into India.
A rebalancing clause is incorporated into the Agreement to provide a framework for addressing any shortfall in investment delivery, thereby ensuring robust and tangible economic outcomes.
Total bilateral trade in goods and services reached USD 2.4 billion in 2024.
