Steve Smith, David Warner may face one year bans over ball tampering row

Amid Steve Smith’s ball tempering controversy, reports have emerged that he may face a one year ban from the international cricket arena. Steve Smith and David Warner have already resigned from the captaincy and vice-captaincy of Australian cricket team, but now they could be stripped of the captaincy permanently.

Australian cricket team coach Darren Lehmann has already resigned with immediate effect and cricket experts have been holding talks in South Africa over the cheating scandal. Steve Smith has made clear that Darren Lehmann had no knowledge of the plot.

For now, Steve Smith has been suspended for one match and has been fined his 100 percent match fees for the act which saw teammate Cameron Bancroft tamper the ball during the third test against South Africa.

Cricket Australia (CA) boss James Sutherland will meet up with CA’s head of integrity, Iain Roy where they both are supposed to decide the future of Smith and Warner and sack them for 12 months.

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Sutherland said in an email to cricket fans:

We are aiming to be in a position to fully update the Australian public on the investigation and outcomes on Wednesday morning. We understand the strong interest everyone has in this situation and we are following due process to properly address all of the relevant issues involved.

Steve Smith has already stepped down as captain of Rajasthan Royals with Ajinkya Rahane being his replacement. Zubin Bharucha, a Rajasthan official said:

The incident in Cape Town has certainly disturbed the cricketing world. We have been in constant touch with the BCCI and taken their counsel. Furthermore, we have been in regular contact with Steve. It’s in the best interest of the Rajasthan Royals that he steps down as Captain so the team can get ready for the start of the IPL without the ongoing distractions.

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We will keep you updated with all the progress in this case. Follow KNine Vox on Facebook and Twitter to stay tuned.