Steve Smith could make cricket return in Canada T20 tournament: report

Cricket Australia had banned Steve Smith for a year after he was found guilty of ball tampering during the recent Test series in South Africa

Tainted former Australian cricket team skipper Steve Smith could return to playing cricket as early as next month in a T20 tournament in Toronto.

Steve Smith has been out of competitive action after being banned for a year by Cricket Australia for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal. (REUTERS)

According to a report on cricket.com.au, Smith might feature in the Global T20 Canada tournament which will run from June 28 to July 16. It’s a six-team tournament and Smith, who was handed a one-year ban by Cricket Australia after being found guilty in a ball tampering scandal in South Africa earlier this year, might make a move. There will be a minimum of four Canadians in each squad, so there’s plenty of room for foreign recruits.

The six competing teams of the tournament, sanctioned by the International Cricket Council earlier in February, are Caribbean All-Stars, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Ottawa Royals, Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks.

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Smith, who’s still the No 1 batsman in the Test format, has played 155 T20s so far and has over 3000 runs in his kitty at an average of 30.03 and a strike rate of 125.36. He was due to lead Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League but with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) following the sanctions imposed on the trio of Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, he missed out on the T20 league.