Disgraced Australia skipper Steve Smith’s nightmare in South Africa ended on Wednesday (March 28) as he departed for his native country in a manner he would have definitely liked to avoid.
The top-ranked Test batsman along with David Warner has been handed a one-year ban by Cricket Australia in the aftermath of the ball tampering scandal. Cameron Bancroft, who had tried to change the condition of the ball, has been banned for 9 months. In addition to their national suspension, all three players have been barred from representing their states in the Sheffield Shield.
Ahead of the fourth Test, the trio has left the African country. And a video footage shows how tough things are getting for the disgraced trio. The video which is going viral shows how Smith was booed and jeered as he tried to make his way amid tight security.
Not only that, the media personnel were also in no mood to let go Smith easily.
Here is the clip showing Smith’s departure:
Plenty of media and security personnel were around for Steven Smith's departure from Johannesburg https://t.co/k31z2UACeu pic.twitter.com/tYo3XN455j
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 28, 2018
Meanwhile, both Warner and Smith have been banned from playing in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League. Smith was due to lead Rajasthan Royals while Warner was set to captain Sunrisers Hyderabad. Both were on contracts of 12.5 crore INR – the highest paid Australian players in the tournament.
“The BCCI hopes that the cricketers participating in the IPL hold the highest regard for the Spirit of Cricket and Code of Conduct for Players and Match Officials,” the release from BCCI stated.