Smith denied BPL participation

Former Australia captain Steven Smith has been denied participation in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League T20.

Smith was included in the Comilla Victorians squad after an agreement with the Australian and the franchise, but the governing body disallowed the move after other franchises protested the breach of rules in the agreement. 

A meeting between the BPL governing council and representatives of the franchises took place at the BCB headquarters at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka earlier in December, and the Smith issue was one of the main agendas.

“The technical committee meeting was held due to the unusual situation. We thought a world-class player like Smith would add spark to the tournament. The BPL’s image would also be enhanced in the international arena. But representatives of the seven franchises sat for a meeting after the opposition was voiced regarding his (Smith) inclusion. After the opposition was raised, the situation has turned complicated. The technical committee provided the franchises the opportunity of a further addition of a player outside the draft. But since most of the franchises did not agree to this, the issue was forwarded to the board. Now the board will have the final say on the Smith issue,” said Jalal Younus, chairman of the BPL technical committee.

#BPL franchises oppose @stevesmith49 inclusion https://t.co/RMWJfZTyzD

— DhakaTribune (@DhakaTribune) December 11, 2018

One-time BPL champion Comilla created quite a buzz in November this year in the Bangladesh cricket fraternity with the inclusion of middle-order batsman Smith for the sixth edition of the BPL T20. 

The Australian cricketer was roped in as the replacement of all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who is set to leave Comilla midway through the tournament for Pakistan’s series against New Zealand.

The BPL governing council had allowed the inclusion of Smith by tweaking the regulations, believing the appearance of the Australian cricketer would add additional colours to the competition. 

However, the decision soon faced a written objection from Rangpur Riders, along with majority of the franchises, following which the BPL governing council took a step backwards from the decision, and made the inclusion of Smith for the upcoming season void.