"I don’t see Warner in that category" - John Buchanan refuses to label Australian opener as a 'great'

Former Australia head coach John Buchanan has opined that David Warner cannot be categorized as a bona fide great of the game. While Buchanan admits that the left-hander's performances have been exceptional, the veteran feels he hasn't done anything unrivalled.

Warner retired from Test and ODI cricket with over 15,000 runs and has been one of Australia's biggest match-winners over the years. The southpaw closed his Test career with a half-century in the final innings as Australia swept Pakistan 3-0. Moreover, he slammed 164 in the first Test of the series as well.

Speaking to SEN Breakfast, Buchanan reckons the likes of Don Bradman, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne are the ones to be categorized as greats. The 70-year-old elaborated:

"I think he’s certainly performed exceptionally well throughout this career, he sits on 8000+ runs, he’s played over 100 Test matches, over 160 ODIs and nearly 100 T20s. On performance base, he’s right up there.

"But greats of the game, in my opinion, are people that really do and have done something exceptional that others just can’t match, so therefore you automatically go to the Bradmans, McGraths, Warnes, they’re the greats in my opinion. Others come close, but are just not in that category and I don’t see Warner in that category.”

The 37-year-old played an integral role in Australia's both World Cup victories and their only World T20 title win.

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"I hope I put a smile on everyone's face" - David Warner

David Warner. (Image Credits: Getty)

At the post-match presentation of his final Test, Warner said he hopes for the youngsters to follow his footsteps and take red-ball cricket equally seriously. He stated, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo:

"[Would like to be remembered as] exciting, entertaining, and I hope I put a smile on everyone's face with the way that I played and hopefully the young kids out there can follow in my footsteps. White-ball cricket to Test cricket. It's the pinnacle of our sport. So keep working hard to play the red-ball game because it's entertaining as well."

Australia undeniably have their task cut out in finding the opener's replacement across formats.