The game of cricket is undergoing one of its darkest hours with the latest ball tampering issue taking the center stage globally and, more importantly, beyond the realm of the sport, which is often called "the gentleman’s game".

Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera tampering with the ball with the help of sandpaper which he then hid it inside his trouser on the 3rd day of third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. He initially dubbed the object as a yellow tape to Cricket Australia (CA), the governing body of the game Down Under, but the "disgraced" player’s claim was rejected. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge.

A massive public outcry in Australia, as well as in the rest of the cricket-playing nations, and sharp reactions from the cricketing fraternity and fans have forced the CA to impose a ban on the accused, Bancroft, his skipper Steven Smith, who confessed that the team leadership hatched the plan, and vice-captain David Warner, the alleged mastermind of the futile plan.

Incidentally, both Smith and Warner have been banned from playing international and domestic cricket for 12 months by Cricket Australia and have been sent home ahead of the decisive fourth and final Test of the series in Johannesburg, as well as getting thrown out of the upcoming season of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Moreover, as per CA chief executive James Sutherland, Smith can’t captain the Kangaroos for 12 months after the completion of his ban, while Warner is banned from captaincy for life.

Meanwhile, opening batsman Bancroft, the man who fell from grace with his "live" act, has been slapped with smaller punishment as he can return to the national team after 9 months and will be eligible to lead his side 12 months after the completion of his ban.

As the tough call was expected and was urged by many former cricketers and pundits, the latest cricketer to echo the sentiment is one of the most-well known cricketers in the history of the game, Sachin Tendulkar. 

The former Indian cricketer, who himself was accused of ball tampering back in 2001 during the South Africa series, wrote on his Twitter page: “Cricket has been known as a gentleman's game. It's a game that I believe should be played in the purest form. Whatever has happened is unfortunate but the right decision has been taken to uphold the integrity of the game. Winning is important but the way you win is more important.”

However, the Indian icon’s contemporary and renowned Australian cricketer Shane Warne felt that the quantum of punishment wasn’t appropriate for the crime and mentioned in a newspaper column, “Let's take the emotion out of it. We are all feeling angry and embarrassed. But you need a level head and you shouldn't destroy someone unless they deserve to be destroyed. Their actions were indefensible, and they need to be severely punished. But I don't think a one-year ban is the answer.”

Quite significantly, it’s the issue of tarnishing the image and pride of Australia that seems to have overwhelmed the degree or the seriousness of the crime. 

It was the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who spearheaded the call for a harsher punishment for his country’s "disgraced" cricketers, regretting that "it seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team had been involved in cheating. After all, our cricketers are role models and cricket is synonymous with fair play. How can our team be engaged in treating [cricket] like this? It beggars belief. A lot of disappointment." 

Taking a cue from Turnbull, a number of former Aussie cricketers, the vocal Australian media and more importantly, the sponsors of the Australian cricket team, have also put the onus on their cricket board head honchos to take an exemplary action. 

The subsequent announcement of the ban was viewed as an immediate damage control and image makeover act as coach Darren Lehmann, who, strangely and quite surprisingly, escaped any punishment, proclaimed "Previously we butted heads but that's not the way to go forward." 

No wonder Australian cricket, which once included their ever-controversial "sledging" acts as a part of their "gamesmanship", has entered a new era after the naming and shaming of its own.