'He was a bully, I don't have time': Faf du Plessis' scathing remark for Australia star

It's been four years since South Africa and Australia played that infamous Test series which saw many controversies including a ball-tampering scandal involving Australian players. The series first came into the spotlight after a verbal altercation between the then South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock and Australian opener David Warner nearly turned physical. Then came the 'sandpaper gate' that saw three Australian stars getting banned for a year for tampering with the ball. 

Faf du Plessis calls David Warner a bully

Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis, who was leading his side in the series, recently shed light on the incident, where he called Warner a 'bully'. Warner was the centerpiece of the entire ball-tampering saga as it later emerged that he was the one who asked Cameron Bancroft, one of the three Australian players to be banned for a year, to tamper with the condition of the ball using sandpaper. Du Plessis said Bancroft was just a stooge, while also giving the then-Australian captain Steve Smith a pass. He only had unkind things to say about Warner. 

"He [Warner] was a bully. I don't have time for bullies," Du Plessis told BBC while talking about his new book Faf: Through Fire. In light of Du Plessis' remark, it appears that the former Proteas captain is more outraged by Warner because of his altercation with De Kock than by the Australian batter's involvement in the ball-tampering episode.

Warner and De Kock were involved in an altercation that took place during the first Test match in Durban. A heated argument broke out between both the players after Warner sledged De Kock for nearly an hour while the latter was attempting to save the Test match for his team. 

What happened after the ball-tampering incident?

As far as the tampering incident is concerned, Warner along with Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft was handed a one-year suspension by Cricket Australia and was also removed as the vice-captain of the Test team. A lifetime captaincy ban was also imposed on Warner after the ball-tampering incident. Smith was also sacked as captain of the Australian team in all formats. Both Smith and Warner were able to make a comeback in 2019 and were also part of the Australian World Cup squad that reached the final of that year's World Cup.  

Image: AP