BBL 2022-23: After a standoff with Cricket Australia over his participation, Steven Smith will play for Sydney Sixers in the BBL this season.
Steve Smith Back in BBL for Sydney Sixers
In accordance with an agreement made between Smith and CA, Smith will join the Sixers team as a replacement player after an international star returns to their home country in early January. He can then participate in up to four regular-season games when the Test summer concludes on January 8.
Smith will now receive a higher compensation as part of marketing expenditures. Even though the function of a replacement player typically fetches rewards of $2200 each game. This offer from CA involves a sizeable investment from Cricket NSW. It is comparable to the one used to entice David Warner back to the BBL at the Sydney Thunder.
All Happy in Sydney Sixers’ Management After Smith’s Return
Talking about Smith’s inclusion in the Sixers, Sixers boss Jonathan Robinson-Lees said. “Steve and his management recently confirmed he will be available to play in this summer’s Big Bash. It’ll be after his international commitments have finished in January. That is great news for the Sixers, the BBL and for fans.
“We are really excited for the team and especially our fans, who will now get to see one of the world’s greatest players in magenta this summer.”
Smith Back in Sixers’ Squad
Smith will play in the Sydney Smash match on January 21 at the SCG versus Warner’s Thunder. He won’t have played in the BBL since 2019–20 when he comes back.
The 33-year-old tried to join the Sixers last summer but was infamously denied because he failed to submit a nomination for the player replacement pool.
This summer, after the Sixers filled up their initial roster spot in the mistaken belief that Smith wouldn’t be available, it had seemed as though he might meet the same end.
Smith Back in Sixers: A boost for BBL
Before the competition was finalised, CA executives met with Smith’s management during the Perth Test earlier this month in an effort to get him back in.
The result is a significant victory for CA on numerous fronts. Smith is a crowd-pleaser and the BBL needs someone like him. Due to injuries, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh are both out of the competition.
“Steve Smith is a Sixer. He has been part of this club from the start, and he will be part of this club for as long as he wants to be,” Sixers captain Moises Henriques said. “He has always known that the door is open to him playing with us again.”
Additionally, the Warner leadership crisis has brought attention to the organization’s recent harsh criticism for failing to make judgments that were clear.
