The disgraced Australian cricketer Steve Smith was seen batting in the nets as he has been recovering well from following an elbow injury during his stint in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Smith, who is currently serving his 12-month suspension alongside teammate David Warner in the ball-tampering incident, is expected to return to Australia’s squad for 2019 World Cup.

Smith’s ban is scheduled to end on March 29 but his return to international cricket might be delayed as he continues to recover from the elbow injury. He suffered an elbow injury while leading the Comilla Victorians in the BPL. He has since remained out of action. There were doubts that he might not be fit in time to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and feature in the ODI series against Pakistan scheduled to commence on 22nd March.

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However, Smith on Thursday posted a video on his Instagram giving an injury update as he said his elbow felt good. Captioning the post, he wrote, “Great to have my first hit back today. The elbow is feeling good”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BubKVz4hB2H/?utm_source=ig_embed

Smith was banned for a year by Cricket Australia (CA) for his role in the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket last year. In Warner and his absence, Australia underwent one of the toughest phases across formats as they lost Test series against Pakistan and India followed by an ODI series defeat at home against Virat Kohli and his men.

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Meanwhile, Smith will also be keen on featuring in the IPL after missing out last season due to his ban. He will once again be a part of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise after being retained by the team ahead of the player auction in 2018. However, it is unlikely that the Aussie batsman will be handed the captaincy of the franchise with Ajinkya Rahane all but confirmed to lead the side in the upcoming season.

Currently, the Australian team is on India tour and won the two-match series 2-0 under Aaron Finch’s captaincy.