by: Atika Mehboob TN Sport Pakistan:
Take your mind back to the Sandpaper scandal that took place in 2018 when Australian players David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft were found guilty of using sandpaper to tamper with the ball.
Recently, Warner revealed his retirement plan, and he will retire from Test cricket after the upcoming Pakistan and Australia Test series.
However, after Australia revealed the 14-member squad for the first Test against Pakistan, the name of David Warner did not sit well with former pacer Mitchell Johnson.
Writing in The West Australian, the former pacer said that the 37-year-old really never “owned” the sandpaper scandal, and now he is getting special treatment from the side.
Johnson mentioned that the left-handed batsman, who has averaged 28.90 since the start of 2021 with one hundred, six fifties, has been afforded such special treatment.
“It’s been five years, and David Warner has still never really owned the ball-tampering scandal,” Johnson wrote. “Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our country. As we prepare for David Warner’s farewell series, can somebody please tell me why?”
Johnson also lambasted George Bailey for providing Warner with multiple chances.
“The handling of Warner in recent years, who played with Bailey in all three forms, raises the question of whether Bailey was simply too quickly out of playing and into the job and too close to some of the players.
I also wonder what the role of the head selector is these days. It seems to have moved to be a part of the inner sanctum rather than standing aside from it. There’s now throw downs for the players, golfing together, and celebrating wins to all hours.”
