Smith, Warner slapped with 12-month ban

Steve Smith and David Warner have been handed 12-month ban by Cricket Australia owing to their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal that has shaken the cricket world to the core. While Cameron Bancroft, the player to alter the condition of the ball, has been slapped with a 9-month ban as Cricket Australia came down heavily on the errant trio which disgraced itself in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Steve Smith has also decided to give up his IPL contract and take a break from cricket while David Warner will play in the cricketing extravaganza, but he has stepped down as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad, according to the reports in Australian media. Smith and Warner also stood down as captain and vice-captain of the Australian squad after the duo was found guilty hatching plot to alter the condition of the ball to gain undue advantage. However, chief coach Darren Lehmann was surprisingly given a clean chit after CA concluded its preliminary investigations yesterday. Tim Paine will captain Australia in the final Test match in Johannesburg with reinforcements in middle-order batsman Glenn Maxwell along with openers Joe Burns and Matt Renshaw scheduled to arrive on Thursday.