Steve Smith, David Warner’s central contract could be up for renegotiation

Cricket Australia have imposed 12-month ban on Smith and Warner for their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal.

Smith and Warner were the leading voice for the players during last year's pay dispute (Pic. Source: Getty)

Following the severity of sanctions imposed by Cricket Australia on Steve Smith and David Warner for their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal, everyone in the cricket fraternity is talking about the central contracts of former Aussie captain and vice-captain.

As per the reports in Sportstar, the central contracts of Smith and Warner could be up for renegotiation once "the proposed sanctions are confirmed/agreed by the players after their hearing." The new contracting period is due to commence in April. On Wednesday (March 28), CA had banned Smith and Warner for 12 months, while rookie opener Cameron Bancroft was handed a 9-month suspension from international cricket.

In April 2017, Cricket Australia had disclosed a list of 33 centrally contracted male players that included Smith and Warner. It is pertinent to mention here that both Smith and Warner had stood for pay hike last year which saw the contracted Aussie players being offered multi-year deals by CA's team performance manager Pat Howard. The deal, however, didn't come to a conclusion.

Reports in Sportstar further suggest that the ability for the convicted trio to access training facilities during the length of their suspension will also be determined via the nature of their ban; which continue to be only 'proposed sanctions at this stage.'

It is learnt that each player is working closely with their managers and they will decide ‘what additional level of legal advice the tainted players need’ going forward.

Besides the proposed sanctions, Cricket Australia had also stated that each one of the convicted trio will have to complete 100 hours of community service before being considered for future selection. While Smith and Bancroft will have to wait two years before they are considered for leadership roles, Warner will never again be considered for captaincy as he was found to be the instigator of the plan.

Smith, Warner and Bancroft are still eligible to compete in club cricket, however, they can’t take part in state or international games for the duration of their bans.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 01 Apr, 2018

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