I am not a criminal: David Warner lashes out at Cricket Australia over his lifetime captaincy ban

Australian opener David Warner has lashed out at Cricket Australia (CA) over his lifetime captaincy ban and has urged them to change their code of conduct when it comes to bans on players from taking a leadership position. Warner was banned for a year by Cricket Australia for his role in the ball-tampering scandal which rocked the cricketing world in 2018.

While Warner and former captain Steve Smith were handed out bans for a year each, Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months. Warner was also banned from taking any leadership role in the Australian national team for the rest of his career, with CA imposing a lifetime ban on him.

However, calls were made to revoke the leadership ban on Warner earlier this year, with him being touted as one of the potential candidates to lead Australia in the limited-overs formats. Nine months after the Australian players’ union requested CA to reconsider Warner’s ban, Cricket Australia has decided to approve changes in its integrity code allowing players to appeal against long-term bans.

Warner said it was disappointing to see the approval come after a long agonising gap when the decision of a one-year ban on him took just a few days back in 2018. The senior batter said the last nine months have been ‘traumatic’ for him and his family.

“It’s a tad disappointing that when you make a decision in 2018 it’s in four days, and then this takes nine months. It’s good to get in a position where it gives me an opportunity to ring up the integrity unit to have a word to them and put forward my case.,” Warner told Australian media.

“It’s been drawn out and it’s traumatic for me and my family and everyone else who was involved in it – we don’t need to relive what happened,” he added.

The star opener further argued he had not committed a crime to be banned for a lifetime from taking a leadership role in the team and that he didn’t need the captain’s tag next to his name to be regarded as a leader in the squad.

“I’m not a criminal. You should get the right to an appeal at some stage. I understand that they put a ban in place, but banning someone for life, I think it’s a bit harsh,” said Warner.

“I’m a leader in the team, no matter what. You don’t need to see a C (captain) or a VC (vice-captain) next to my name,” he added.