Former Australian skipper Mark Taylor feels that the Australian team management could stick with David Warner for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against India at the Oval in London in the first week of June. Notably, Warner not only is undergoing a slump in form especially in the longest format of the game but also sustained an injury which ruled him out of the final two Test matches of the four-match Border-Gavaskar Series, Australia's most recent Test assignment,.
However, Taylor reckons that Warner deserves another chance not only for the summit clash of the 2021-23 cycle of the WTC but also for the first few Ashes Test match after which the management can look beyond him, in case the left-handed batter fails to regain his form.
"If I am reading the tea leaves right, it sounds like they will stick with David for the World Test Championship (final) at The Oval. And if that's the way Australia are thinking about the World Test Championship, then yes, they have to start with him for the Ashes," Mark Taylor told AAP.
Whether or not Australia go ahead with Warner will also be all the more interesting especially because Travis Head, who got a chance in place of Warner, did well in the Test matches against India.
Other than Warner at the top of the order, Taylor also advocated to bring Cameron Bancroft at the top of the order to ensure that there is a right and left-hand opening combination.
"It would be very hard to have Usman Khawaja and Warner open the batting and then change a week later for the first Test at Edgbaston. My old way of thinking, I always like a right and left-hander combination. So I would love to see Cameron Bancroft get another opportunity at the top of the order," he added.
The WTC final will is scheduled to be played from June 7 to 11.