Former Windies skipper Darren Sammy is yet to have chat with the disgraced Australian cricketer Steve Smith about his cricket return but his teammate in the Global T20 Canada league is ready for battle. Smith’s career witnessed a drastic change in March for his role in a ball-tampering scandal that took place in South Africa and that resulted in a 12-month ban from national and state teams.

However, the suspension doesn’t imply for the domestic tournaments outside his home country because of which Smith will be able to take the field for the Toronto Nationals on Thursday for the opening game of the inaugural Global T20 Canada event. During a press conference, Toronto skipper Darren said, “I’ve spoken to him as to the role I would love for him to play on the team. As to what’s going on in his mind I think only Jesus could tell you what is going on in his mind. But he looks ready.”

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It will the first game for Smith after the ball-tampering scandal, he was not made available to the media in the lead-up to the tournament, but Sammy had nothing but praise for his new teammate. He said, “So far he has been brilliant for the guys, especially the batsmen. They might not be able to copy what he does in terms of experience and batting situations and the process in which he prepares for a match, but it’s good to see how he goes about his business and good to learn from for the youngsters.”

Smith apologized for the ball-tampering incident at a press conference during which he couldn’t control his tears and now Darren feels it is time for everyone to move on from the incident that shook the cricket world. “Look, we all know what he’s done on the cricket field as a batsman. He missed out on (Indian Premier League), all that stuff. At the end of the day, life goes on.”

The 22-match tournament commences on Thursday just north of Toronto and concludes on July 15.