'He has served his punishment' - Greg Chappell wants David Warner's leadership ban to be lifted

Former Australia skipper Greg Chappell has opined that the leadership ban on David Warner should be lifted. To note, Cricket Australia (CA) banned Warner and Steve Smith from the leadership role after the infamous ball-tampering scandal in a game against South Africa in 2018. While Smith’s ban was uplifted two years after the incident, Warner’s leadership ban remains for lifetime.

At present, express pacer Pat Cummins is leading the Australia side in the Test format and the white-ball captaincy is being done by Aaron Finch. Meanwhile, Chappell has emphasized the fact that Warner has served his punishment and he is a good leader and can lead the national side well.

I don’t know why David Warner should be treated any differently: Greg Chappell

“He obviously had a central role in what happened but he was not the only one that was involved and I don’t know why he should be treated any differently,” Chappell told Fox Sports News on Tuesday.

“He’s served his punishment, he is a good leader on the side, and no doubt if he had had the opportunity, I’m sure he would have captained the side quite well. I think he’s paid his penalty and it’s time to open it up for leadership roles. Warner and Steve Smith, the vice captain and captain of the test side at the time of the ball-tampering incident, were both banned from elite cricket for a year,” Chappell added.

Warner holds experience in captaining the side as he has previously led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The left-handed batter even led SRH to their maiden title in 2016 after they had beaten the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a thrilling final.

Talking about Warner’s numbers in the international arena, the left-handed batter has played 133 ODIs and scored 5610 runs. In T20Is, Warner played 91 matches and amassed 2684 runs. Not only in limited-over formats, but Warner has also done well in the longest format of the game. The 35-year-old has made 7817 runs in 96 matches so far at an average of 46.53.