Former Indian player Atul Wassan has come hard against Australian Steven Smith, in particular, following the fresh ball tampering controversy which has taken world cricket by storm.
The 50-year-old Delhi-based fast bowler Wassan remarked Smith must play the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“I think he should not be playing IPL,” Asian News International quotes Wassan.
The eleventh edition of lucrative domestic professional T20 league will be kicking off on April 7.
Dejected over the recent fiasco, Wassan reiterated and referred Smith’s statement as brash. The ‘leadership group’ tactic further infuriated the cricketer-turned-commentator.
“It was very brazen of Steve Smith to just come and say that it was the team leadership’s decision to do that,” Wassan said.
Owing to the ball-tampering, the clout of scandal has further forced the Cricket Australia’s (CA) authority to take the stern action.
Moreover, Wassan also believes explosive batsman David Warner not to turn up for the IPL.
The 31-year-old Warner leads IPL franchise Sunriser Hyderabad. He also has a single title under his belt.
“He and David Warner should not be playing in IPL,” Wassan said.
So much so, Smith-Warner cricketing career is at stake. The ball-tampering scandal further saw Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull terming the incident ‘sad.’
“It was very naive of them to that in front of so many cameras. This has brought a lot of disrepute to Australia,” Wassan remarked.
It’s pertinent to mention after stepping down as Australia skipper; Smith further stood down from his top-post for Rajasthan Royals respective.
The Jaipur-based outfit will be lead by Indian top-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane in the impending IPL edition.
Wassan further believes the one-match ban is not enough for a remarkable player like Smith.
“Just stepping down of captaincy and getting a ban of few matches is not enough for somebody of his stature. He is the guy people look up to,” Wassan added.
Also, Atul Wassan remarked the distinct outfits of the cash-rich league must take massive measures. He asserted the game stands above all.
Royals team is making the return after the two-year break following the alleged involvement of their players in the 2013 spot-fixing IPL scandal.
“Rajasthan Royals is in a fix now. They are coming back after two-years and they gave made their strategy around Smith and suddenly they have got a tough call to make. Those teams will have to take a hard call as a game is bigger than the players,” Wassan further added.
Wassan featured in four Tests for India between in 1990, before playing nine One-day Internationals. He claimed 21 wickets in his short international career after his debut against New Zealand in Christchurch.
Here’s the newsfeed:
SA vs AUS 2018: Steven Smith Not to Fly Home, To Stay With Team in South Africa – CA
Sourav Ganguly feels Rajasthan and Hyderabad will Remove Smith and Warner
