David Warner's 15-year international career came to an anti-climactic end on Tuesday as Australia were dumped out of the T20 World Cup in excruciating fashion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia and Warner could only watch on powerless as Afghanistan instead reached the semi-finals by beating Bangladesh by a nail-biting eight runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia's fate had hung in the balance after India defeated them by 24 runs in St. Lucia on a day of high drama.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 37-year-old opening batsman Warner had always said the World Cup in the United States and Caribbean would be his farewell to international cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He couldn't have imagined going out quite like this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The combative Warner stood tall at the top of the Australian order ever since his international debut in January 2009, and as opening partners came and went.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He hangs up his pads as arguably Australia's greatest three-format player. He is the country's leading run-scorer in T20 cricket with 3,277 from 110 games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Warner exited a glittering 112-Test career in January after plundering 8,786 runs at an average of 44.60, with a strike rate of 70.19. His one-day exploits were equally impressive, crunching 6,932 runs from 161 matches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Warner was also one of the most consistent slip fielders in the game, whose name was among the first on the team sheet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He is probably our greatest-ever three-format player. He'll be a loss," Australia coach Andrew McDonald said recently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Other people have been gunning for him for a period of time, but for us internally, we've seen the great value and what he brings to the table, hence why we've kept picking him."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- Tarnished -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But for all his exploits on the pitch, Warner made enemies along the way and will forever be remembered for his key role in a notorious ball-tampering scandal in 2018.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Warner was seen as the chief plotter when Cameron Bancroft used sandpaper to scuff the ball before a crude attempt to conceal the evidence down his trousers during a Test in Cape Town.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Along with skipper Steve Smith, Warner was suspended for a year by Cricket Australia, stripped of the vice-captaincy and banned from ever leading the team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Warner, who will continue to play T20 cricket in leagues around the world and will also be a commentator, admitted this month he would always be tarnished by "Sandpaper-gate".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He feels he has been unfairly singled out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Whether it's people who don't like the Australian cricket team or don't like me, I've always been that person who has copped it," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For that reason, Warner said he was looking forward to international retirement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"One can only absorb (so much)," he said. "For me, it's great to go out knowing I'm not going to cop it anymore."<\/p>\r\n\r\n