David Warner eyes Australia’s ODI captaincy, ready to talk with management to end leadership ban

Australia’s star opener David Warner is considering meeting Cricket Australia (CA) chief Nick Hockley soon to have leadership talks and convince themend the lifetime captaincy ban imposed on him in the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal during the Test series in South Africa. Notably, in 2018, three Australia cricketers – the then-skipper Steve Smith, his deputy Warner and Cameron Bancroft – were banned from playing international and domestic cricket for varying periods not exceeding a year in the aftermath of the episode, which came to be known as the ‘sandpaper-gate scandal’. The incident that took place during a Test against South Africa in Cape Town, not only prompted CA to ban the trio, but also barred Smith from taking up a leadership role for two years, while Warner was banned from any such role for the rest of his professional life. However, with the captaincy role in One-day Internationals (ODIs) now vacant in the Australian side, following the retirement of Aaron Finch, Warner is fancying his chances to take that role. “Any opportunity you get asked to captain or whatnot, it’s a privilege,” Warner told Fox Sports on Tuesday. “For my circumstances, that’s in Cricket Australia’s hands and I can only concentrate on what I have to do, and that’s using the bat and trying to get as many runs as I can. “My phone’s here. At the end of the day, what’s done in the past is done. There’s a new board and I’m always happy to sit down and have a chat about anything.” Interestingly, Test skipper Pat Cummins is considered the frontrunner for the job, but he himself along with several former Australia players have been lobbying in the media for Warner’s ban to be rescinded. It is worth noting that, since Warner has returned to the side after serving the ban, he has guided the team to victory in several campaigns, including Australia’s maiden title triumph in the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE last year. He has also been at his best behaviour, prompting many in cricket fraternity to ask CA to lift the leadership ban on the veteran player.