5 major series/tournament that David Warner and Steve Smith will miss out on
A batsman is said to be in the prime of his skills when he closes in on his thirties. Having played the sport for a considerable time and, in most cases, having had sufficient experience at the international level, he becomes well aware of his strengths and limitations. It is considered to be the best time of their career and most successful batsmen of the past have been prime examples of reaching the zenith at this time in their career.
Australian skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner, both on either side of their thirties, have been handed a 12-month ban by Cricket Australia in a bid to rebuild the country's reputation which has been tarnished by the recent Sandpaper Gate.
The ban seems to be the only way in which Smith, who averages a staggering 61.37 across 64 Tests and has been ruling the batting carts with record rating points, could be stopped from scoring runs as bountifully as he was. Warner, on the other hand, had just come off a successful T20I series, both as batsman and skipper and another season of IPL beckoned him.
With the ban coming at such crucial time in their respective careers, the two are set to miss out on some serious cricketing action in the coming year.
Australia are scheduled to play a lot of cricket in the coming year which includes series against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at home and a tour to Zimbabwe. But there are even bigger cricket fixtures that they won't be a part of, most of which will help them take shape ahead of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England.
Let us have a look at five major cricket series/tournaments that the captain and vice-captain of Australia are going to hate missing out on.
Indian Premier League 2018
The first instance of them missing a tournament will be the upcoming season of IPL where both Smith and Warner were expected to play huge roles as skippers of their respective sides Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
In Smith, Royals have lost an able captain and potentially their most vital cog in the middle order. Smith, who took Rising Pune Supergiant to the final of IPL 2017, has been replaced by Ajinkya Rahane and it will be interesting to see how the team fills the gap left by the non-availability of the prolific run scorer.
Even more difficult will be the task that Sunrisers have at their hand as Warner's absence at the top leaves a huge void in the opener's slot. The pocket-sized dynamo has been their highest scorer in all his four seasons for the franchise and has also won the Orange Cap in 2015 and 2017. In 2016, his leadership came to the fore as he marshalled his troops to their maiden IPL title.