Cricket Australia upholds bans on Smith, Warner ahead of India series
Brisbane, Nov 20: Steve Smith and David Warner will not be available for Australia's upcoming Test series against India after the year-long ball-tampering bans on them were upheld by Cricket Australia on Tuesday after a review.
In recent days, owing in no small measure to the Australian team's poor on-field performances, there was a clamour for the bans to be reduced, which might have made them available for the four-Test series against India starting December 6 in Adelaide.
It would have allowed the two players, as well as batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was given a nine-month ban, to return to competitive cricket earlier than stipulated.
"The Cricket Australia Board has carefully considered all elements of the ACA submission and has determined that it is not appropriate to make any changes to the sanctions handed down to the three players," interim chairman Earl Eddings said in a statement.
The Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) even made a submission favouring a reduction in the bans, to which Cricket Australia responded in negative.
The Australian Cricketers' Association asked for a rethink on the suspension of the trio following the Longstaff review.
The ACA said that the review provided new and compelling evidence that CA - and not just the players involved - contributed to the atmosphere that prompted the events of the Cape Town Test in March.
With India set to play Australia in a long series, including four-Tests and considering the hosts' recent run of losses, there were prompt calls to bring back Smith and Warner before the contests against the visitors. The series gets underway with the first T20 International here on Wednesday.
Smith and Warner are eight months into their one-year bans, while Bancroft will be eligible to return in December.
The trio were banned for their role in the ball tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket in March.
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
