Explosive Australian opener David Warner was desperate to return to leadership duties. As Australia explored leadership opportunities, with Warner being one of the potential candidates, it restructured its constitution regarding the captaincy ban. While he was banned from the role for life following his involvement and being the mastermind of the infamous 'sandpaper-gate' during the Cape Town Test in 2018, he officially requested his ban overturned. However, he shockingly withdrew his appeal on Wednesday and slammed Cricket Australia (CA) in a scathing social media post. In a lengthy post on the platform, he accused CA of wanting to put him through "public lynching".

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Warner wrote in his 700-word post, "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."

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"Counsel Assisting the Review Panel appeared to be determined to revisit the events of March 2018, and the Review Panel appears determined to expose me and my family to further humiliation and harm by conducting a media circus. Regrettably, I have no practical alternative at this point in time but to withdraw my application. I am not prepared to subject my family or my teammates to further trauma and disruption by accepting a departure from the way in which my application should be dealt with pursuant to the Code of Conduct. Some things are more important than cricket," added Warner.

"It appears that the Panel has given no more than passing consideration to issues of player welfare and the interests of Australian cricket and is instead determined to conduct a public lynching," Warner continued. He also explained the issue's impact on him and his family while he made every effort in his rehabilitation.

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"Since that Test, and even though my ban from leadership roles may never be lifted, I have taken it upon myself to reform, to rehabilitate and to transform my approach to the game. I have served and been subject to a crushing, unprecedented penalty that has horribly impacted me and my family for the past nearly five years," Warner further composed.

Meanwhile, a CA spokesperson also issued a statement on the development that read, "We are disappointed with this outcome as our intention was to give David the opportunity to demonstrate why his lifetime leadership ban should be varied at an independent hearing, and we amended our Code of Conduct accordingly."

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"We supported David's wish for these discussions to be heard behind closed doors and respect his decision to withdraw his application. David is a very senior and highly regarded member of the Australian team who has been a great ambassador for the game as a whole since his return from a year-long ban," concluded CA's statement, reports ESPNCricinfo.

Check out Warner's complete statement below, as he captioned it, "Some things are more important than cricket…..". His wife Candice commented on the post, "❤️ Family first. ❤️" besides adding, "Now is not the time. ⏰". Fellow cricketers Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey and Michael Vaughan also came out in his support, and Warner remarked, "Thanks, everyone, for the support; means a lot ❤️".

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A post shared by David Warner (@davidwarner31)

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