IPL Controversies- Part 26: Franchises Ban Steven Smith, David Warner After Sandpapergate Scandal
Shortly after the Sandpapergate scandal broke out, Steven Smith and David Warner resigned as captains of Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. BCCI later ruled them out of the season.
On March 24, 2018, Cameron Bancroft was spotted using sandpaper to tamper the cricket ball during a Test match against South Africa at Cape Town. Cricket Australia responded immediately, by sacking captain Steven Smith as captain mid-Test. They also side-lined vice-captain David Warner, appointing Tim Paine instead. IPL Controversies- Part 25: Sanjay Manjrekar vs Kieron Pollard During Indian Premier League 2017.
At this point, Warner, one of the greatest batsmen in IPL history, had been leading Sunrisers Hyderabad. He had led the Sunrisers to their maiden IPL title in 2016. Smith, on the other hand, had been appointed of Rajasthan Royals, who were returning to the IPL after serving a two-year ban themselves.
On March 25, both men resigned from their respective IPL roles. On the same day, CA suspended Bancroft for nine months, and Smith and Warner for 12 months, from both international and domestic cricket. Smith and Warner were also barred from leadership roles for 24 months. All three were also instructed to ‘undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket’.
On March 28, the BCCI announced officially ruled both Smith and Warner out of that season’s IPL. Curiously, on March 29, Somerset contracted Bancroft for the summer. IPL Controversies- Part 24: Harsh Goenka vs MS Dhoni During Indian Premier League 2017.
Hyderabad replaced Warner with Alex Hales that season. Led by Kane Williamson (who also won the Orange Cap), they finished runners-up in 2018. Rajasthan got Heinrich Klaasen for Smith. Under Ajinkya Rahane, they came fourth. Warner and Smith returned to lead their respective franchises in the 2019 edition.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 23, 2021 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).