Cricket Australia Lifts David Warner's Lifetime Leadership Ban

Cricket Australia (CA) has lifted David Warner’s lifetime captaincy and leadership ban. The decision was made following a review by an independent panel. With this move, David Warner is free to captain in Australian domestic cricket, such as for Sydney Thunder in the Twenty20 Big Bash league this season.

David Warner, who retired from international cricket this year, was banned from captaincy along with a one-year ban from cricket following the ball-tampering scandal in 2018. The three-person panel unanimously decided that Warner had met the necessary criteria to have the ban lifted. The review panel said that the veteran batter "was sincere and genuine in acknowledging responsibility for the conduct and in his statement that he had extreme remorse for his conduct."  Warner announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this year after the Pakistan Test series. 

“I am pleased David has chosen to have his sanction reviewed and that he will be eligible to take up leadership positions in Australian Cricket this summer,” said Nick Hockley, CA Chief Executive, in a statement. It is worth mentioning that the move could also be considered an early birthday present from Cricket Australia as Warner turns 38 on Sunday.