Steve Smith at centre of overseas T20 drama
Steve Smith could be barred from playing in an overseas Twenty20 competition after having his eligibility thrown into question.
Officials from the Bangaldesh Premier League (BPL) met on Tuesday to decide whether the banned former Australia captain should be allowed to play in the competition.
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However, the meeting couldn’t be split as the process ended in a deadlock.
The issue has nothing to do with Smith’s role in the ball-tampering scandal that saw him hit with a lengthy ban – rather a rule relating to replacement players.
Smith signed with Comilla Victorians in November as a replacement for Sri Lanka’s Asela Gunaratne but the rules of the competition state any replacement players must come from the initial draft.
The BPL technical committee chairman Jalal Yunus asked his compatriots to consider making an exception for the 29-year-old, who was not part of the initial draft.
“We had allowed Comilla to sign Steven Smith for the greater interest of the BPL,” Yunus said.
“The bylaws said that a replacement player has to come from the [players who were in the] draft and, after we allowed Comilla, the other franchises objected.
“This is why we held the meeting today but, since we couldn’t come to a conclusion, I have now referred it to the BCB.”
The BPL gets underway in early January.
