Johnson questions 'hero farewell' for Warner

Warner, 37, has been named in Australia's squad for the first Test, which begins on December 14 at Perth .

Johnson highlighted Warner's poor recent form and his central role in the ball-tampering scandal "sandpapergate" from 2018.

The former fast bowler asked why Warner appeared to have been able to "indicate his own retirement date." Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine said Johnson had made "great points" about Warner's form, but Australian slugger Usman Khawaja defended Warner, saying "nobody is perfect."

Warner indicated in June that the three-Test series in Pakistan, which ends at home in Sydney, would be the last of a 12-year Test career.

The opener scored 8,487 runs at an average of 44.43 in 109 Tests, but he averaged below 30 in the last two years and has made only one Test century since 2021.

"As we prepare for David Warner's farewell series, can anyone tell me why?" Johnson wrote in The West Australian.

"Why a struggling Test opener can name his own date of retirement. And why does a player at the center of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history deserve to be considered a hero?

"It's been five years and David Warner still doesn't really own the ball-tampering scandal."

Johnson took 313 wickets during an eight-year Test career that ended in 2015, three years before the scandal of ball tampering which shook the Australian team.

Warner was banned from cricket for a year and stripped of his vice-captaincy for his role in rubbing the ball with sandpaper during the South Africa tour.

Captain Steve Smith was also suspended for one year and Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months.