BCCI Pleads David Warner, Steve Smith guilty; bars them from IPL!

BCCI has confirmed that David Warner and Steve Smith would not be taking part in the upcoming eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League.

BCCI’s decision comes as a big blow for Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad who would play the tournament in the absence of the premier Aussie batsmen.

Both Smith and Warner have been banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia (CA) and now BCCI has also decided to terminate their IPL contracts.

Rajeev Shukla told the reporters, “Cricket Australia has banned the two players and we are also barring Warner and Smith from this edition of the IPL.”

“We waited for ICC to pronounce their verdict first, then we waited for CA’s decision. We have now made our decision. We have made a well-informed decision,” he added.

The disgraced duo of Steve Smith and David Warner were supposed to captain the franchise of Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively before they decided to step down from their leadership roles.

Smith and Warner were among the highest earners of this season with contracts worth £1.3m.

BCCI in its statement said, “The Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Wednesday took cognizance of the developments in the ball tampering incident involving Cricket Australia contracted cricketers – Mr. Steve Smith, Mr. David Warner and Mr. Cameron Bancroft.”

I must admit 12 months is a very harsh ban. 6 months I thought was right but clearly this reflects the uproar in Australia. It means they miss the India series and have little time to get ready for the World Cup

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 28, 2018