‘I disagree’: Pat Cummins goes rogue with statement on David Warner

Aussie captain Pat Cummins has gone public with a bold statement on the future of David Warner following the ball-tampering saga.

Australia's David Warner in Sri Lanka. Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP)

Aussie test captain Pat Cummins has called for David Warner’s life-ban to end.

The Aussie captain has spoken out ahead of Cricket Australia’s scheduled board meeting in July where Warner’s captaincy exile will be reviewed, according to The Daily Telegraph

Warner, then-captain Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were famously banned from playing domestic or international cricket as a punishment for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018.

Smith was banned from taking up a leadership position for two years, but Warner was banned from any such role for the rest of his career.

Smith was elevated to the Australian Test vice-captaincy alongside Cummins following Tim Paine’s resignation over a sexting scandal.

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Now Cummins has put pressure on Cricket Australia (CA) to overturn the ban and give Warner an avenue back to an official leadership position.

“I do have views. Fundamentally, banning someone for life I disagree with,” Cummins told The Herald Sun.

“People are allowed to learn and improve and grow. So yeah, fundamentally I disagree with that concept.

“He’s a fantastic leader around our squad here. If he has a formal role, he’d be fantastic with that as well. So if that ever came up, he’d be great.”

David Warner in Sr Lanka. Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP.

It has been suggested the decision to review Warner’s ban may be an attempt to from CA to try and persuade Warner to play in the Big Bash (BBL) again, with the league suffering a free-fall in TV ratings and crowds.

At the age of 35, the captaincy of a Big Bash franchise may be the most senior office Warner can reach before he hangs up his bat.

Warner’s wife Candice recently indicated the blanket ban on any form of captaincy for the opening batsman in Australian domestic cricket means he will likely never return to the BBL.

Debate over the fairness of Warner’s ban was a hot-topic over the summer of cricket with Australian cricket legend Shane Warne also questioning the ongoing ban.

He said Warner “has probably got the best cricket brain in the team” and said the ban “doesn’t make sense to me”.

Candice also hinted in December Warner would rather captain sides in T20 tournaments around the world than play in the Big Bash without being skipper of a team.

“It is disappointing because at this stage, when David decides to retire from Test cricket, he won’t play Big Bash,” she said.

“And that’s really disappointing for the Australian fans and kids and anyone who loves T20 cricket — the fact that David Warner will never play Big Bash again.”

Meanwhile, Australia and Sri Lanka will face off in the first match of a two-Test series, which starts on what looks certain to be a turning wicket in Galle, on Wednesday.