You have seen a different Warner since 2019: Khawaja

David Warner’s feisty character has been a stand-out attribute of his game. But it is that character which has landed him in multiple trouble, including the Sandpaper Gate back in 2018, after which he received a lengthy ban from Cricket Australia (CA). 

His closest friend, Usman Khawaja, has opened up on Warner’s transition post the 2018 saga, stating that world cricket has seen a very different Warner following his comeback. 

"Back in the day, if the team asked - or coaches or senior players [asked] - to get into the contest or sledge the other teams, he'd do it. He doesn't have to do it, but he wants to help the team, and that's how he felt he had to help the team. You've seen a very different David Warner since he's come back in 2019. He's done it his own way,” Khawaja said. 

Khawaja also spoke about Warner constantly getting told to play in a certain manner by the coaching staff. Warner’s influence on the field was multi-fold for the national team, who were beneficiaries of his swashbuckling style of play with the bat. 

"For a long period of time, he was in people's faces and doing stuff; but that wasn't always Davey. He was getting told to play a certain way by the coaching staff and people around at certain points. He's such a team player. If you ask him to do something, he'll do it. That's the frustrating part when people come at him because I know he'll do anything he needs to for the team to win a game,” he added. 

As a batting pair, the duo have scored 1564 runs, with an average of 40.10 with three hundred-run partnerships and ten fifty-run partnerships. The duo walked out together twice in Sydney over the last two days, first batting the day's final over before walking out fresh on day two. 

"We are pretty tight - probably even tighter after he missed a year of cricket because he went through a really tough time, and I always made sure he was going all right," Khawaja said. "I always had his back. It's really good to watch that people are getting around him because I think he deserves it; I really do. I think about the journey we've been on, and it is quite emotional."

"He's looked good [in] every single way," Khawaja said. "Nice to see him leave on a high. He just got a ripper of a ball today that you have to cop sometimes. It's his Test, and [it's] really good to be a part of it."