Spin legend Shane Warne believes that Australia Cricket desperately needs the suspended Steve Smith and David Warner back at the helm, as there is not enough talent coming up to replace the talented duo in the national line-up at the moment.

However, the former Australian cricketer admitted that it will be difficult for the suspended duo to recover from their "very harsh" punishment, but Australia needs their star cricketers back at their best.

Ever since Warne and Smith’s suspension from cricketer for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, Australian cricket is suffering without their batting powerhouses till now, and Warne is confident that Australia will quickly hit top form again once their star players’ return to the side.

On Tuesday (October 16), Warne told Omnisport, “It can be uncomfortable coming back but Australia cricket desperately need them back. There is not enough talent coming up to replace players of this standard. They have played a lot of cricket, which I wasn't able to do, which is a surprise. I would have encouraged them to take their minds off cricket by jumping into something else.”

On punishment, he added, “At the time, I thought the punishment of Smith, Warner and Bancroft was very harsh. For Smith and Warner to get a 12-month ban was a punishment that didn't fit the crime – they were playing against an opposition captain [Faf du Plessis] who had been done twice for ball tampering.”

Warne signed off by saying, “It's hard for them to get over it as they'll always feel guilty. It was embarrassing. But they need to get back the respect of the Australian and worldwide sporting public.”

(Input: Omnisport)