Cricket Australia (CA) took the toughest decision earlier this year when they banned their three players for a period of 12 months for being involved in the ball-tampering in South Africa. Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft was clearly caught on cameras while using the sandpaper in an attempt to change the condition of the ball. It was later revealed that the former skipper Steve Smith and David Warner were also part of the proceedings after which CA handed severe suspensions on the trio.

While Smith and Warner had to step down from their respective positions with immediate effect in the middle of the Cape Town Test match, they were also banned for 12 months. Bancroft was banned for a period of 9 months and nobody had seen the severe repercussions of the incident coming at them. The banned trio has faced a lot of heat from the fans and the cricketing fraternity since then and the Australian cricket team is understandably struggling in the aftermath of the scandal.

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Recently, the Australian team was whitewashed by England in the five-match ODI series which began the considerations of the board reconsidering the bans imposed on the cricketers. However, the CA has strongly denied the claims and have stressed the fact that all the three players will have to serve the suspensions for the said period.

As quoted in the cricket.com.au, CA spokesperson said, “At no stage have we, or are we considering lessening the current sanctions in place for respective players in relation to the incident in South Africa. The CA Code of Conduct does not allow for reversal or lessening of sanctions once players have fully accepted the charges. The current articles published are purely speculative.”

Now that the CA is not willing to relax the suspension periods on the players, the likes of Smith and Warner could only be eligible to play for Australia by April 2019. It remains to be seen now if they will be included in the World Cup squad which is set to commence on May 30 in England.