Disgraced Australian stars Steve Smith and David Warner will make a comeback in next year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), their franchises announced on Thursday.
Both Smith and Warner were barred from participating in the lucrative tournament this season after their involvement in a ball-tampering scandal.
Rajasthan Royals named Smith in their squad, and Warner stayed with Sunrisers Hyderabad as the 12th edition of IPL officially kicked off with the announcement of players retention by all franchises.
The duo has been retained by their respective franchises on contracts worth about 2.4 million Australian dollars (INR 12.5 crore), as per reports in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The reason why Smith, Warner won’t play in the entire season
The ban on Smith and Warner ends on March 29, the same date on which the next edition of the IPL is set to begin. However, none of the two players will be able to play the entire IPL this time since Cricket Australia (CA) has set up a training camp for the upcoming ICC World Cup in May. The players from the down under who are bound to play the ICC tournament will return home in the first week of May.
While the IPL final is scheduled on May 19, the first match of the 2019 World Cup scheduled in England and Wales will be played on May 30.
Cricket Australia is also not approving contracted players in the T20 tournament until after the country’s domestic Sheffield Shield season concludes on April 1, unless of course their team New South Wales fails to make the final.
