Smith, Warner banned from Indian Premier League – IPL chief

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said its top officers had decided “to ban Mr Smith and Mr Warner with immediate effect from participation in IPL 2018”.

“If there are significant suspensions that flow from this I guess that will ultimately be a matter for the BCCI and the IPL”, CA chief executive James Sutherland said. “We are also going to talk to Sunrisers Hyderabad that they should also consider about Warner being the captain”, Rajeev Shukla told ANI.

India opener Shikhar Dhawan could be made captain of SRH if Warner is removed.

The decison from the apex body of Indian cricket came minutes after Cricket Australia (CA) banned Smith and Warner for 12 months.

Things got worse after the ball-tampering row rocked cricket where Warner was one of the prime culprits.

Their respective teams, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, had previously confirmed that the two had relinquished their captaincy roles.

Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner have been banned for a year for their involvement in the incident while Bancroft, just 25 and with only seven Tests under his belt, is out for nine months. Ajinkya Rahane has been given the role of captain of RR, returning to IPL action after serving a two-year ban due to corruption.

Another bone of contention is their Indian Premier League contracts with Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderbad.

“Because, over the last few years, that’s one area where unfortunately Sunrisers hasn’t been able to do well”.

On Smith admitting to playing foul later, Saha said, “He might have thought that if he admitted to tampering with the ball, the punishment would be lessened”.

Smith and Warner were both involved in the decision to tamper with the ball that has erupted into a major scandal. He leads the New Zealand team in all formats and thus has plenty of experience as a captain. The franchise is yet to name a replacement skipper, though it is learnt that Kane Williamson, the New Zealand skipper, has emerged the frontrunner.

Jim Maxwell, who is traveling with the Australian team, has said he observed Warner being ostracised by his own teammates on the flight from Cape Town.