David Warner has admitted to a sense of relief that the looming end of his international career will also mean a dialling down of the constant abuse he has weathered as the perceived mastermind of the 2018 Newlands ball tampering scandal.

The Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean is Warner’s last international tournament, after he retired from Tests with great fanfare at the SCG in January. Australia are in prime position to add another global trophy after sailing unbeaten through the pool phase.

Six years ago, Warner was singled out by Cricket Australia’s hierarchy as the most culpable figure in events at Cape Town, banning him from playing for a year and from leadership positions for life.

An attempt to have the leadership component of Warner’s punishment overturned in 2022 was abandoned. That was largely because he did not wish to go through the ordeal of a public hearing to revisit the events of Newlands, which remain an awkward topic for many in Australian cricket to this day.

“Coming back since 2018 I’ve probably … been the only one that’s ever copped a lot of flak. 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,” Warner told reporters in Antigua ahead of Australia’s Super Eights clash with Bangladesh on Friday morning.

“It’s fine if they want to do that, but I always feel like I’ve taken a lot of pressure off a lot of guys as well and I think understandably I’ve been that person to be able to absorb that. But one can only absorb [so much]. For me, it’s great to go out knowing I’m not going to cop it any more.”

In the aftermath of his bid to be eligible for leadership positions, Warner reached a point of acceptance that it would always be his lot to be the lightning rod for criticism and questions about the scandal. But he expressed hope that close watchers of the game would also remember him for how he broke the batting mould for Australia.

“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.