Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft revealed he considered giving up cricket to become a yoga teacher after the ball-tampering scandal that rocked the cricketing world.
Bancroft received a nine-month ban from international and domestic cricket for his part in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa earlier in the year where he used sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball. Then-captain Steve Smith and deputy David Warner were suspended for a year.
A day after Smith held a press conference in Sydney, Bancroft also broken his silence. His ban runs out in a week.
Bancroft decided to do that through a letter addressed to his former self, which was published in the West Australian newspaper.
In it, Bancroft talked about the major influence Australian coach Justin Langer has had on him, along with West Australian mentor Adam Voges. He said a crucial moment was when Voges asked him to justify why he should be on a pre-season trip to Brisbane with the Western Warriors Sheffield Shield team.
“On your way to present your case to your coach you realise this is the moment when you begin to become OK with the thought of never having cricket as part of your life again,” he wrote in the letter.
“Until you are able to acknowledge that you are Cameron Bancroft, the person who plays cricket as a profession, and not Cameron Bancroft the cricketer, you will not be able to move forward. This will become a defining moment for you.”
Bancroft revealed yoga became an important part of his life while dealing with the ramifications of the ban. In fact, at one point he considered quitting the game to become of a yoga teacher.
“Maybe cricket isn’t for you, you’ll ask yourself … will you return? Yoga will be such a fulfilling experience,” he wrote.
Bancroft ultimately decided to return to cricket and is set to make his comeback in the Big Bash Twenty20 League for the Perth Scorchers on December 30.
“While you do not look that different, on the inside you are a vastly different man to the bloke who made that mistake in South Africa,” he added in the letter. “You know you cannot say sorry enough, but actually it is time you allow your cricket to be about what you have learnt and use this opportunity to make a great impact.”
