"It’s certainly been talked about"- Tim Paine claims David Warner could bat in middle order during 2023 World Cup

Former Australian skipper Tim Paine has claimed that he has heard rumours about the possibility of David Warner being shifted to No. 4 in the ODI setup with the World Cup to be played in India in October-November this year.

Paine quite likes the idea of Warner at No. 4, as he feels that would give the likes of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head the license to go big at the top of the order. He feels Warner can be that fulcrum in the middle order, given his good game against spin.

Speaking to SEN Cricket, here's what Tim Paine had to say about David Warner's batting position:

“Now that’s something I have heard. It’s going to be imperative to get off to really fast starts and right now, Travis Head and Mitch Marsh are our most explosive players. I think Warner can come in at No. 4. He’s a good player of spin, he’s fast between the wickets, he’s also got power and can control the innings. So I like having him in the middle order in those conditions. And I have heard that from a few people, that it’s certainly been talked about."

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Tim Paine picks his World Cup squad for Australia

Tim Paine made some interesting additions to his probable World Cup squad, dropping pace options like Nathan Ellis and Sean Abbott. He feels that only two out-and-out pacers with a combination of seam-bowling all-rounders like Marcus Stoinis and spin-bowling all-rounder Glenn Maxwell could be enough for Indian conditions.

Paine also included Marnus Labuschagne and Tim David in his 15-man squad. He stated:

"I can see us playing two quicks with Cam Green, Marcus Stoinis, and Glenn Maxwell all playing."

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Paine's 2023 World Cup squad:

Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (wk), Cam Green, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Ashton Agar, Marcus Stoinis, Marnus Labuschagne, Tim David.