David Warner, still throwing punches, but not in bars

On that fateful night in a Birmingham bar, David Warner lost it. His team had been beaten by England in the first match of the 2013 Champions Trophy. He couldn't stand a cocky Joe Root and his antics. Warner did not hold back and punched the young man in his face. He was caught red-handed and was sent back home. His team followed him soon as Australia failed to go past the group stages. Warner was a villain, symptom of everything wrong with a cricket culture that goes soft on booze.Four years on much has changed with Warner. He is the trusted lieutenant of captain Steven Smith. The senior pro, who the team looks upto. The opener is probably the best one-day batsman in the world in current form. From the start of 2015, no one apart from Martin Guptill of New Zeland has scored more runs in ODIs than Warner's 2407 from 43 matches at an average of 62. In the list of most ODI hundreds in a calendar year, Warner's seven in 2016 is second only to Sachin Tendulkar's otherworldly nine in 1998. He has clearly overcome his inconsistency in one-dayers, something even his mentor of early years Virender Sehwag could not completely do.From the humiliation of 2013, Warner has come a long way. He's a World Cup winner, an Ashes winner, an IPL winner with the team he captains, Sunrisers Hyderabad and has become a role-model for upcoming young cricketers. He went on a self-imposed prohibition during his wife Candice's pregnancy in 2015 and has more or less stopped alcohol consumption ever since with a focus on improving his performances on the field.It's not just on the field, Warner has matured. Recently, he has publicly taken a stance against Cricket Australia's proposed revenue sharing model which would put lower-level cricketers at risk while paying internationals handsomely. For standing up for fellow cricketers, Warner's gesture has been applauded by former cricketers like Ian Chappell.When Australia begin their pursuit of a third Champions Trophy title with a match against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand on Friday, Warner is expected to get them off to a good start and banish the bitter memories of the 2013 campaign. And as he punches one through the off-side in his signature style, it would not have dire consequences like his more infamous punch four years ago; only a signal that all is well with the Warner world.