Former Australia skipper Steve Smith, who is currently serving a one-year ban from international and Australian domestic cricket, will play for Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Comilla Victorians in the sixth edition of the tournament. He will begin his stint with the squad after the departure of Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik since the latter will be recalled to the Pakistan team ahead of the series against New Zealand.

Besides Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were the other players who were banned after the fall-out from the Newlands ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket earlier this year. The ban does not apply to domestic tournaments outside of Australia, and because of that both Smith and Warner were able to play in the Canada-based Global T20 League earlier this year.

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Smith will also feature in the next edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). However, Warner refused to play in the PSL, but he has also decided to be a part of the BPL and will represent the Sylhet Sixers in the tournament’s upcoming edition.

Stev was also seen batting at the nets session against his New South Wales state-mates Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to prepare them to face Virat Kohli and his men in the upcoming four-Test series, during which Hazlewood floored him with a short ball. he batted well during his stint at the SCG nets on Monday. He was having some minor troubles while facing the trio on a couple testing deliveries from Hazlewood. 

Smith and Warner’s ban finishes on March 29, next year while Bancroft’s ban ends on December 29 this year. The BPL is expected to commence on January 5, 2019.