Australian batsman David Warner on Thursday said that his one-year suspension for ball-tampering allowed him to “grow as a human being” and spend more time with family. “Life has been good for me. I have been spending time with the family. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I wasn’t sitting in the sidelines,” Warner told reporters in Dhaka after he was unveiled as captain of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Sylhet Sixers.
“It is about getting the best out of myself and growing as a human being. My most important thing was being a father and husband at home.
“Now it is down to playing cricket again and making sure I get Sylhet Sixers on top of the table.”
The former Test vice-captain of Australia is currently serving a 12-month ban from international and state cricket for his role in a ball-tampering scandal during the third Test in South Africa in March last year.
Warner returned to franchise-based cricket in June last year when he played in the inaugural Global T20 tournament in Canada before travelling to the West Indies to play in the Caribbean Premier League.
“It is up to the selectors whether or not they want to pick me,” he said. “At the end of the day, all I can do is score runs in this tournament and the IPL, keep putting my hand up and making sure that I am the best person I can be,” he added.
