Steve Smith has been denied permission by Cricket Australia to play for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League playoffs due to a strange coronavirus loophole in the T20 tournament.
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Steve Smith enjoyed a rather mediocre Ashes 2021/22 contest. For the first time in a decade, Smith did not score an Ashes hundred against England. He averaged only 30 in the series and that forced his career average to fall below 60 after four years. With the end of the Ashes, many Australian players are free to play in the Big Bash League. Usman Khawaja linked up with the Sydney Thunder and hit a fifty against the Melbourne Renegades.
Steve Smith was all set to play for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League. He even traveled to Melbourne and believed that the paperwork to join the side was a mere formality. But, in a sensational twist, he has been refused permission to play for the Sydney Sixers. The reason – A strange coronavirus rule that has derailed his participation.
According to a report by Australia’s Foxsport Channel and website, Cricket Australia denied permission because replacement players can come from the local player replacement pool. The Big Bash League, reeling from the coronavirus cases, had to shift a majority of their games to Melbourne because it had more venues. The local player replacement pool was created to help clubs deal with spiraling coronavirus cases.
Read – Steve Smith Suffers This Horror in Melbourne for One Hour
But, the Sydney Sixers were in a Catch-22 situation. If they placed Smith in the local player replacement pool, he could have been picked by any other franchise. That meant that Smith could have played for anyone apart from the Sydney Sixers franchise. But, one more thing derailed the Sydney Sixers’ chances to acquire Smith for the BBL.
Cricket Australia postponed the three ODI and one T20I series against New Zealand just after the end of the Hobart Test. The series could not go ahead because of New Zealand’s strict 10-day hard quarantine rule on return. Smith would have been part of the ODI and T20Is against the Blackcaps but sadly, there will be no cricket for the majority of Australian players until February 11. Australia will then play five T20Is against Sri Lanka with the venues still not confirmed.
Cricket Australia had a conference call with the CEOs of the state franchises. They were ready to accept whatever verdict the CEOs gave. But, in the wake of the coronavirus situation, they decided that Cricket Australia need not bend the rules in order to make Smith play.
The Sydney Sixers will play the Perth Scorchers. The winner of the match will host the final at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 28. Sydney Sixers are eyeing their third-straight Big Bash League title. However, they may have to do it without the services of Steve Smith.
