Banned Australian skipper Steve Smith is the line to make a comeback to cricket rather sooner than expected after being named among the marquee players for the inaugural edition of the Canadian Global T20 League.
Smith will join the likes of international stars including Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn and Shahid Afridi in the six-team tournament, slated to begin on June 28.
The Test No.1 has been banned for a period of 12 months by Cricket Australia. However, the Australian apex cricket body has exempted him from playing in the domestic league outside his home country.
David Warner, who was the vice-captain, was also banned for 12 months and Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months for their role in ball-tampering during the third Test in Cape Town.
The Canadian Global T20 event will also have Dwayne Bravo, Lasith Malinga, Chris Lynn, Darren Sammy, David Miller and Sunil Narine as marquee players.
In the wake of the ball-tampering controversy, he also stepped down as skipper of Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals before the BCCI banned him from the cash-rich league.
The Global T20 Canada consists of five Canadian teams and a Cricket West Indies representative team, made up entirely of players from the Caribbean. A draft to determine who plays where will be held next week.
The six teams in the competition are the Caribbean All-Stars, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Ottawa Royals, Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks.
The league will comprise 22 matches culminating in playoffs and the championship match on July 16.