For David Warner and Steve Smith, the next 12 hours or so will be one that would define their cricketing futures. And while the Australian fans would be largely concerned about their future with the national teams, Indian fans would be interested to know how if the duo would ever feature in the IPL again.
Advertisement
Following James Sutherland’s statement from last night, where he informed the media that Warner and Smith had been sent back to Australia, it seems like their sanctions could be for a lengthy period. However, Sutherland and Cricket Australia will announce their fate within the next 12 hours, a statement that could change the course of their(Warner and Smith’s) careers.
BCCI will wait for CA’s decision on the fate of the players and if the CA bans them, they will be banned from the IPL as well.
CricketNext has reported that if the CA bans the duo, they will not be able to participate in the IPL, just like the case with Andre Russell, wherein he couldn’t participate in the IPL after he was banned by the ICC for a year over a doping violation.
“To be honest, I don’t understand what all the cry is about. If the CA goes ahead and bans them, there is no way that the IPL franchises can accommodate them, just like Andre Russell had to skip the IPL after he was caught violating doping clauses. If CA says that they have decided to ban the two players, that is where it all ends for them as far as IPL 11 is concerned. The IPL GC actually has no role,” a BCCI official told CricketNext.
In his press conference last night, Sutherland condemned the act of ‘cheating’ by the Australian team, especially the leadership group and Cameron Bancroft and vowed to the Australian fans that the board would do everything in their power to not let any player tarnish the game and the image of Australian cricket in the future.
“On behalf of Cricket Australia, I want to apologise to all Australians that these events have taken place, especially to all the kids. I want to also apologise to Cricket South Africa and South African fans that this issue has overshadowed what should have been a great series.
“In view of the broader reputational and integrity issues involved, the sanctions that will be contemplated are significant. The process must be balanced therefore thorough to ensure that all relevant issues have been examined.” Sutherland said.
He then provided an update about the actions taken against the accused and confirmed that Lehmann had no role to play in the entire saga.
Renshaw, Burns and Maxwell were being flown into South Africa for the 4th Test and Tim Paine would be captaining the Australian test team for the foreseeable future.
RR and SRH will thus have to wait for CA’ decision and if both the players are banned, RR and SRH will be handed with a huge blow right before the start of the new season.
