The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided not to allow the disgraced Australian cricketer, Steve Smith to take part in the upcoming edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in the sixth edition of the tournament as the franchises have 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 upcoming season of BPL, which will be commencing 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 and hence, the BCB had to take the final call.

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Talking about the same to Cricbuzz, Victorians’ chief executive Col[retd] AKM Zaki said, “Yes, he [Smith] is not available for us. We have received a mail in this regard last night.” However, Cricbuzz’s reports suggested that the franchise is planning on writing to BCB to reconsider the decision.

The former Australia skipper 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.

Steve Smith, along with fellow Australian David Warner, is currently serving a 12-month ban imposed by Cricket Australia (CA) for his involvement 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. Smith will also feature in the next edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). However, Warner refused to play in the PSL