Warner and Smith will appear in BPL followed by IPL 2019 before the CWC 2019.
“We’ll obviously take their form in those tournaments into account, so that will be important to watch,” Roberts was quoted as saying by ABC Radio.
Both Smith and Warner will be competing in the Bangladesh Premier League followed by the Indian Premier League in the coming year. “There’s got to be consistency, fairness, and justice in our selection criteria and so that’s our focus on making the road as smooth as possible,” he added.
Both Smith and Warner’s year-long bans will come to an end in March 2019, which were handed to them for their roles in the ball tampering scandal in South Africa this year.
Both Cameron Bancroft and Smith, in recent interviews, clarified that it was former vice-captain Warner who instigated the ill-fated ball tampering incident in Cape Town. But their statements garnered severe criticism from former Australian players and officials.
“I don’t really know. But I think what’s important is our commitment to that integration process, working with the three sanctioned players. Making sure that we’ve got selection criteria that are the same for all players, whether they are the sanctioned players or not,” the CA chief said.
Roberts praised Warner for handling the situation graciously.
“I spoke to Dave on Christmas Eve, or just prior to Christmas, but having spoken to him since the interviews I think Dave’s to be commended for his maturity and the way that he’s handling the situation at the moment, and of course our approach is the same with all three players,” he said.
(with PTI inputs)