David Warner's wife Candice has given a befitting reply to her husband's critics who had been highlighting the Australian opener's poor form ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Warner, who had an unimpressive run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the latter half of the Dubai leg of the lucrative tournament, besides losing his captaincy during the India leg, emerged the second-highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup with 289 runs in seven innings averaging 48.16.
Warner struck 65 against Sri Lanka in the 'Super 12' stages, before a breath-taking 89 not out against the West Indies and 49 against Pakistan in the semifinals placed his team on the cusp of global glory.
And his 53 in the final provided the perfect support act for Mitchell Marsh (77 not out) as Australia chased down a total of 173 to clinch their maiden ICC Men's T20 World Cup crown.
Candice Warner took to social media to tell the world that David was still a force to reckon with in international cricketer after he was adjudged 'Player of the Tournament' for his performance in the UAE.
She posted an image of Warner captioned "Player of the Tournament" and wrote, "Out of form, too old and slow! (Flushed face and Rolling on the floor laughing emojis) congratulations @davidwarner31."
Earlier, she posted another image of Warner from the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, with his statistics from the match, and wrote, "Out of form!! (Flushed face and Rolling on the floor laughing emojis)."
Warner's 53 in the final, which Australia won by eight wickets, came off 38 balls and was embellished with four boundaries and three sixes.
Even Australian Captain Aaron Finch said that criticism of Warner before the tournament, regarding his poor form, was "almost like poking the bear".
"Can't believe people wrote him off a couple of weeks ago, it was almost like poking the bear," Finch said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Former skipper Steve Smith also shared his sentiments about Warner.
"Warner's last two weeks have been amazing. A lot of people were writing him off. He came in with exceptional intent and took the game away at the start. For Warner, it was always about being pumped up but at the same time going back to his basics.
"I always felt good, for me it was about going back to basics, getting on some hard, synthetic wickets in order to hit volumes of balls.
"(This tournament is) definitely up there with 2015 (World Cup). Losing to England a decade ago really hurt. These are a great bunch of guys, great support staff, and great support around the world, especially back home.
(With inputs from IANS)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)