Veteran India opener Gautam Gambhir on Thursday (March 29) put forward his viewpoint on the ball-tampering scandal that rocked the entire cricketing fraternity last week.

In a series of tweets, Gambhir termed the sanctions on convicted players as 'harsh' besides expressing his concern whether Cricket Australia (CA) administrators are taking their revenge from Steve Smith and David Warner, who had stood for pay hike last year.

“While cricket needs to be corruption-free but feel sanctions on Aussies bit harsh. Are @stevesmith49 & @davidwarner31 paying for revolt for pay hike? History has it administrators deride those who standup for players’ cause. Classic case: Ian Chappell #BallTampering #StevenSmith” Gambhir wrote in the first part of his tweet.

In his second tweet, the southpaw felt sorry for Smith’s father and his other family members. Gambhir urged the Australian media and public to go easy on them.

“Feel sorry for @stevesmith49 dad (in pic) other family members. Hope media n Aussie public go easy on them as families can be soft targets. More than d ban living wid this feeling of being called a cheat is a bigger punishment. #BallTamperingRow” Gauti’s tweet further read.

In his third and final tweet, Gambhir posted an image of teary-eyed Smith and said that he won’t label him as a cheat and would rather see him as a leader who is desperate to win.

“I may be getting emotional but @stevesmith49 doesn’t look to me a cheat. Don’t know about u but I see in him a desperate leader trying to win a Test match for his country, his team. Yes, indeed, his methods were questionable but let’s not label him corrupt #BallTamperingScandal” Gambhir concluded.

On Wednesday (March 28), Cricket Australia had announced severe punishments on Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their involvement in this disgraceful saga. CA banned Smith and Warner for 12 months, while Bancroft was handed a 9-month suspension from international cricket.

In its statement, Cricket Australia had also mentioned that each player 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.