Warner: I've grown as a person during ball-tampering ban

Sydney, Jan 4: David Warner said his ball-tampering ban has allowed him to grow and spend more time with family as the exiled Australian eyes a return to the national team.

Former Australia vice-captain and opener Warner is serving a one-year suspension for his role in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in March.

Warner was found to have devised the plan to alter the condition of the ball with sandpaper after Cameron Bancroft – who was banned for nine months while Steve Smith was hit with a year-long suspension – was caught on camera using yellow tape on day three of the third Test.

March will mark the end of Warner's ban, with an international return in Australia's proposed one-day series against Pakistan a possibility ahead of the Cricket World Cup in England, starting in May.

Speaking after being named captain of Bangladesh Premier League side Sylhet Sixers, Warner said: "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.

"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."

David Warner has spoken to media ahead of his stint in the BPL https://t.co/wNWNZebHpl

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2019

"It is up to the selectors whether or not they want to pick me," Warner continued. "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."

Warner will come up against former Australia captain Smith's Comilla Victorians in the BPL amid claims of a fractured relationship between the pair following the Cape Town fiasco.

However, Warner played down a rivalry with Smith by telling reporters: "I will just treat it as another game.

"It is not just taking on one player but taking on a team of eleven players. It is about making sure that our bowlers know how to get Smith out, and then tackle the rest of the guys."