Former Australia captain Steve Smith has revealed that he will not appeal against the sanctions placed on him by Cricket Australia and will instead sit out from cricket for the next one year. The right-handed batsman stated that he wants to show the world that he has taken the full responsibility for his actions and has accepted the punishments that he has received.

The disgraced former captain had the chance to reduce his ban period by appealing against the decision of Cricket Australia and had till April 13 to decide whether or not he would make a case. Since tampering issues have happened in the past and the players involved got off relatively easily, Smith had a real chance of seeing ban cut short.

He has, however, opted against appealing as a means to express his remorse.

"I would give anything to have this behind me and be back representing my country," Smith said on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. "But I meant what I said about taking full responsibility as captain of the team. I won't be challenging the sanctions. They've been imposed by CA to send a strong message and I have accepted them."

There have been many instances in the past where players who had tampered with the ball were let off after a fine and small suspension. In this case, however, for the first time in the history of the sport, players that were involved in a tampering saga got banned for an extensive period of time.

David Warner and Steve Smith were banned for a year while Cameron Bancroft has also been ousted for 9 months. This not only hurts their current position but also puts their future under predicament.

For starters, both Smith and Warner are expected to lose over $5 million each – including sponsorship and IPL deals – for the period of their bans. They are not going to be there in the 2018-19 central contract and can’t play in the Australian domestic circuit in the same timeframe.

This leads to a vicissitude for them since by the time their ban is lifted, they will only have the opportunity to play in the NSW Premier Cricket grade competition to prove themselves and earn a central contract for the 2019-2020 season.

The central contracts are decided by using the performance of the players over a season’s worth of cricket, which is why it is very difficult to see as to how they could possibly earn a decent contract for the 2019-2020 season.

This is why having their domestic ban reduced was so important for them. However, Smith, who earned $2 million in the central contract for the 2017-18 season, has decided against appealing against CA’s verdict and not only risks putting his career in jeopardy, but also his financial position.

In conclusion, Smith’s decision might seem illogical when the above is concerned, but it also shows that honour matters more for him here. Everybody makes mistakes and this is perhaps Smith’s way of repenting for his sins.

And it is a very admirable one.