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'Warner has been an awesome leader': Australia captain Cummins assures that team supports opener amid leadership ban row
Australia captain Pat Cummins has said that David Warner has the full support of the team and he has always been a leader in the squad
Debate has been raging over the ban imposed on David Warner against captaining any team in Australia ever since the senior opener withdrew his appeal to overturn it. The latest big development in the saga was Warner's manager James Erskine claiming that two "senior executives" had told the team to tamper with the ball when they had lost a match against South Africa in Hobart. Warner's captaincy ban stems from the infamous 2018 ball tampering scandal after which he had been imposed with a one-year ban from all cricket alongwith Steve Smith and stripped of Australia vice-captaincy.
Amidst all this, Australia captain Pat Cummins has now said that Warner has always been a leader within the side and that the players support the former vice-captain. "I haven't heard the comments [from Warner's agent] today, but I have chatted with David and he's great. We really support David and he's a huge member of our side and he's been fantastic with me throughout my whole career," Cummins told Adam Gilchrist on Fox Sports.
"In this side he's been an awesome leader, especially in the last few years. He has our absolute support and we really back him and respect his decision," he said.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Warner disclosed that the Review Panel formed to look into his appeal, was attempting to conduct a public trial of sorts which might affect his family's health and welfare. He further revealed that he was withdrawing his application for the modification to his life-time ban from leadership positions in cricket.
"In effect, Counsel Assisting, and, it appears, to some extent the Review Panel, want to conduct a public trial of me and what occurred during the Third Test at Newlands. They want to conduct a public spectacle to, in the Panel’s words, have a “cleansing”. I am not prepared for my family to be the washing machine for cricket’s dirty laundry. My family is more important to me than cricket," posted Warner on Instagram.
