SYDNEY: Captain Steve Smith and his deputy, David Warner, have reportedly been banned for one year, ruling them out of the home series against India, while batsman Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month suspension as Cricket Australia (CA) came down heavily on the errant trio, which disgraced itself in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
“Steven Smith and David Warner, formerly captain and vice-captain of Australia, have been banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia for their roles in the pre-meditated plan to tamper with the ball on the third day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa,” ESPNCricinfo reported.
Smith, Warner and Bancroft were sent back home midway into the Test series against South Africa after admitting that they plotted to tamper the ball with a sandpaper in the third Test in Cape Town.
However, chief coach Darren Lehmann was surprisingly given a clean chit after CA concluded its preliminary investigations on Tuesday.
Tim Paine will captain Australia in the final Test match in Johannesburg, with reinforcements in middle-order batsman Glenn Maxwell along with openers Joe Burns and Matt Renshaw scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
On Wednesday, Warner stepped down as IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper, days after Smith gave up his captaincy of the Rajasthan Royals.
Media reports stated that the three players have a week to appeal against the sanctions.
BCCI bars Smith, Warner from IPL 2018
New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday barred Steve Smith and David Warner from taking part in this year’s IPL after Cricket Australia banned the disgraced duo for their role in ball-tampering in South Africa.
Smith and Warner were supposed to captain Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively in this edition but stepped down in the wake of the scandal and Cricket Australia banning them for one year.
“They [Cricket Australia] have banned two players and we are also barring these two players from this year’s IPL,” IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla told reporters on Wednesday.
“We wanted everything in our own hands. First, we waited for the ICC’s decision, after that Cricket Australia and then we decided on the matter. We have decided to bar them from this season. The replacements will be made available to the two teams. We did not take any decision in haste, it was a well thought out decision,” he said.
Smith and Warner, along with Cameron Bancroft, were ordered to return home midway into the series in South Africa on Tuesday.
PTI
