David Warner news: Banned Aussie trio could be back for India series
While the Australian team is struggling to put on dominating performances of late, the Aussie fans might hear some good news in the coming days as their national governing body, Cricket Australia (CA) is considering to lift the ban on the tainted trio of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their involvement in the ball tampering saga that happened during a Test against South Africa in Cape Town earlier this year.
This comes after the demand by the players' union, Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) as the players are in favour of their teammates returning to action immediately following the release of the Longstaff review, which laid some of the blame for the Cape Town scandal at the door of the board.
CA's CEO Kevin Roberts conceded that the board is considering to lift the bans on the players with immediate effect and this could see them featuring in the upcoming series against India that gets underway later this month.
"The ACA submission around the players’ sanctions was received by the board a few days ago. It was addressed to the board rather than to me or all management. So not for me to comment on a board matter other than to say that the board will be respecting that submission and giving it due consideration. I think what’s really important is that we at Cricket Australia need to embrace the players and we need to make sure that the players feel a really valued part of Cricket Australia. There’s no doubt that we need to face up to the review and the fact that it acknowledged that the organization hasn’t been united enough across the playing and long-playing sides," Roberts said.
After admitting their involvement in ball tampering, skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were suspended for 12 months each while opening batsman Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban. The trio was banned from playing in the country's top-tier domestic cricket but Warner and Smith are regularly featuring in league matches in Sydney and a handful of T20 leagues around the world.
The arrival of Warner, Bancroft, and Smith will strengthen their Test squad as they are gearing up to take on India in a four-match Test series that gets underway in Adelaide on December 4.