BCB bars Steve Smith participation in BPL over by-law violation

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has decided not to allow Steven Smith to take part in the upcoming edition of Bangladesh Premier League after franchises expressed their reservations over his inclusion in the tournament, citing a by-law violation.

Smith was signed by Comilla Victorians as a replacement for Asela Gunaratne for the forthcoming season of BPL, scheduled to start on January 5. However, the problem with Smith's inclusion is that he was picked from outside the draft, which goes against the laws of the BPL.

Franchises expressed their concern during a meeting with the BPL governing council and after the GC members failed to convince the franchises, the matter was referred to the Bangladesh Cricket Board for a final call.


"Yes he [Smith] is not available for us. We have received a mail in this regard last night," Victorians chief executive Col[retd] AKM Zaki told Cricbuzz on Friday. A franchise source, however, said that they were planning on writing to BCB to reconsider the decision.

The former Australia captain was supposed to arrive at the tournament after the departure of Shoaib Malik, who will join the Pakistan team for the limited-overs leg of their series against South Africa which begins on January 19.

Smith, along with fellow Australian David Warner, is currently serving a 12-month ban for his role in the ball-tampering controversy in the Cape Town Test. Warner joined Sylhet Sixers for the upcoming edition of BPL and was named as the captain of the team.