Former Australian captain Steve Smith and his deputy in Tests, David Warner have received another blow in their respective cricketing careers. The Big Bash League (BBL) has ruled out any prospect of the banned cricketers being allowed to play in the forthcoming season of the tournament.
BBL head Kim McConnie, in a statement, has clarified that there won't be any formal promotional roles for the pair.
“Both players have done a really good job and accepted the ruling from Cricket Australia, and they won't be appearing in the BBL this season,” said Mc Connie during the Women’s BBL|04 schedule release.
“I think every player who plays cricket, we love to think that they talk about the Big Bash and promote the tournament. But beyond being cricket players themselves that have a love of the format, there'll be no formal relationship,” he added.
Speaking about the conduct of one of the renowned T20 cricket league, McConnie said, “We've got so many heroes within our current league, and what we're going to be focusing on this season is really making sure that we bring some of those younger players that we're developing in our own system.”
Warner and Smith are barred from playing in the BBL following their 12-month bans for their involvement in the Cape Town ball-tampering row. However, they were able to feature in the inaugural Global T20 Canada tournament as the Cricket Australia (CA) sanctions do not apply to club cricket overseas.