Former Australian captain Steve Smith, who was banned by Cricket Australia for a year in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal, is all set to make his comeback to cricket in the Canadian T20 Tournament.
Though Steve’s reputation was ruined after the scandal, he was named among the marquee players for the inaugural Global T20 Canada event. The T20 tournament will start next month from June 28.
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Other than Steve, Dwayne Bravo, Lasith Malinga, Chris Lynn, Darren Sammy, David Miller and Sunil Narine were also named as marquee players.
The Canadian T20 tournament will also feature players like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shahid Afridi.
Steve Smith was banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia from international cricket in March 2018 for his role in the sandpapergate incident. However, he is allowed to play domestic tournaments outside Australia by CA.
Other than Steve Smith, former Australian vice-captain David Warner was also banned for one year and young batsman Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months by Cricket Australia for his role in ball-tampering.
Smith, the then world’s number one Test batsman, was sacked and sent home in disgrace after the third Test against South Africa in March.
In the wake of the ball-tampering controversy, he also stepped down as skipper of Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals before the BCCI banned him from the cash-rich league.
Smith is also serving a ban for two years from holding a leadership position within the Australian team and he must undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket.
The Global T20 Canada consists of five Canadian teams and a Cricket West Indies representative team, made up entirely of players from the Caribbean. A draft to determine who plays where will be held next week.
The six teams in the competition are the Caribbean All-Stars, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Ottawa Royals, Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks.
Speaking about the association, West Indies Cricket Board President Dave Cameron, said, “I would like to wish Global T20 Canada much success. The growth of our region will largely depend on the success of leagues and tournaments like this. We support Cricket Canada and look forward to working even closer going forward, so congratulations and all the best to Cricket Canada and Mercuri Group.”
The league will comprise 22 matches culminating in playoffs and the championship match on July 16.
All contests will take place at Maple Leaf Cricket Club, a cricket-specific facility just north of Toronto that will be expanded to a capacity of 7,000 seats.
“Global T20 Canada marks the first time a nation with associate member status launching a league; a major step forward in cricket’s global development,” said Ranjit Saini, President, Cricket Canada.
“Canadian cricket fans will have a great opportunity to see up close many of the world’s greatest players, and I’d like to thank International Cricket Council, CWI and the international cricket community for their guidance and support in growing cricket in Canada.”
-With PTI inputs.
