Steve Smith request to play in BBL is rejected by Cricket Australia

In a disappointing turn of events, Cricket Australia has rejected Steve Smith’s bid to participate in the on-going Big Bash League. Steve Smith was supposed to join the Sydney Sixers squad for the rest of the matches. 

As per the board, other states have voted against allowing Smith to play which is why they have taken this decision. Smith wanted to join the Sydney Sixers team in the qualifier match against Perth Scorchers on 22nd January.

Steve Smith’s name wasn’t included in the list of players for the Sixers squad as he was supposed to be on national duty to play the ODI series against New Zealand but it got postponed due to several reasons, which is why Smith wanted to join the team for the remaining matches.

Sydney Sixers is among the top teams this season and they look strong enough to clinch their 3rd consecutive BBL trophy. Expressing his disappointment at the board’s decision, Sixers skipper Moises Henriques said, “You have got a former Australian captain, one of the best players in the world. You have got IPL teams who pay multi-million dollars just to have this guy as part of their franchise. Advertising, bums on seats, eyes on TVs - I mean, you do the maths. And we're saying no because of a rule that is two weeks old. To me, I don’t get it,”