BCCI bans Steve Smith, David Warner from playing in IPL 2018

The announcement was made by the Indian board after its Australian counterpart banned them for a year after their names emerged in the ball tampering incident. 

"The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Wednesday took cognizance of the developments in the ball tampering incident involving Cricket Australia contracted cricketers – Mr Steve Smith, Mr David Warner and Mr Cameron Bancroft.The CoA, in consultation with BCCI Acting President Mr CK Khanna, IPL Chairman Mr Rajeev Shukla and BCCI Acting Hon. Secretary Mr Amitabh Choudhary, has decided to ban Mr Smith and Mr Warner with immediate effect from participation in IPL 2018," the BCCI said in a statement.

"The BCCI hopes that the cricketers participating in the IPL hold the highest regard for the Spirit of Cricket and Code of Conduct for Players and Match Officials," it said.

The BCCI said the concerned IPL franchises will be allowed to take replacement players.

In the wake of the ball tampering accusations levelled against former Australian cricket captain Steven Smith, his deputy David Warner and team member Cameron Bancroft, Cricket Australia, the sport's highest governing body in the nation, has decided to impose a ban of twelve months on the senior leaders, while slamming a nine-month embargo on cricket on the latter, reports said on Wednesday.

With Smith and Warner set for a 12-month hiatus, it is unlikely that the pair will make the Australian 2019 Cricket World Cup squad.

The ICC mega event, which is scheduled to take place in the UK, will start from May 30 next year.

According to a report by the Cricket Australia website, CA chief executive James Sutherland said that the trio were the only people in the touring group, players and supporting staffs included, who had knowledge about the tampering incident.

Bancroft, who carried out the dirty work, faces a 9-month ban.

Last week, following investigation, the ICC imposed a monetary fine of Bancroft, while Smith was fined 100 percent of his match fee along with a one Test match ban.

Reacting angrily, several former cricketers and faithfuls had stated that the punishment was not just and a few of them alluded to the fact that had it been a player from a non-white nation, the quantum of the punishment would have certainly been severe.

However, in reality, the ICC levied the maximum punishment for the kind of offence which took place and it was up to the CA to decide what was best for Australia.

"The CA Board, comprised of Chairman David Peever, Earl Eddings, Dr Bob Every, John Harnden, Tony Harrison, Jacquie Hey and Michelle Tredenick, as well as former Test players Mark Taylor and Michael Kasprowicz, convened for two-and-a-half hours on Wednesday to determine the sanctions imposed on the guilty trio," a piece on the Cricket Australia website read.

"The three sanctioned players will leave South Africa in the next 24 hours, with Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell called up as their replacements.

"The incident that led to the suspensions took place during South Africa's innings on Saturday afternoon when Bancroft was seen on television holding a foreign object while rubbing the ball, before hiding the object in his pocket, then inside his trousers," it said.

Smith, who has since faced the media and acknowledge playing a part in the now-infamous Sandpapergate, regretted conspiring to tamper with the ball.

"Obviously, today was a big mistake on my behalf and on the leadership group's behalf as well," he said.

"But I take responsibility as the captain, I need to take control of the ship, but this is certainly something I'm not proud of and something that I hope I can learn from and come back strong from.

"I am embarrassed to be sitting here talking about this," he said.

In the aftermath of the event, Smith has not only lost his national leadership duty, but has also been stripped off captaincy for the Indian Premier League-based team, Rajasthan Royals.

Warner too has followed suit. The so called 'agent provocateur' of the Australian team won the IPL trophy with the Sunrisers Hyderabad a couple of season ago, beating the Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by Virat Kohli.