Will David Warner return to BBL's captaincy duties after code of conduct review?

Australia has needed a skipper in the ODIs following the retirement of Aaron Finch. While David Warner has been tipped for it, CA will review his captaincy ban, and he could possibly return during BBL.

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Explosive Australian opener David Warner might be back to captaincy duties as early as in the 2022-23 Big Bash League (BBL) in December. Cricket Australia (CA) has called for its code of conduct review as it looks to overturn the lifetime captaincy ban on the southpaw. Under the existing regulations, players do not possess the right to get their sanction reviewed following the acceptance. However, Warner's captaincy life ban for his involvement during the infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal in the Cape Town Test may be commuted by CA following the review, which could enable him to lead BBL's Sydney Thunder or Australia in future.

"Cricket Australia's board met today, and among the items discussed was a possible amendment to the code of conduct in respect to long-term sanctions," CA affirmed in a statement on Friday. For the penalty to be revoked, Warner must plead his case before the commissioner of CA's code of conduct.

"The amendment would allow a person to request a penalty that they had accepted be reviewed after an appropriate period of time. Currently the code states that once a charge and penalty are accepted, there is no avenue for review. The onus would be on the applicant to prove they had undergone genuine reform relevant to the offence they were sanctioned for," CA's statement further read.

"Any review would not revisit the original sanction, other than suspension of a penalty in recognition of genuine reform. The board has requested that the CA head of integrity propose an amendment to the code for consideration. It was agreed that should an amendment in respect to long-term sanctions be adopted, any review of a penalty would be heard by an independent code of conduct commission," concluded CA's statement.

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CA was compelled to consider Warner's captaincy ban after a request by Thunder via Cricket New South Wales. Warner joined Thunder earlier this year, signing an expensive 10-year contract.

(With inputs from PTI)