Los Angeles: Disgraced Australia stars Steve Smith and David Warner who were both banned from top-flight international cricket for one year after their role in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in March have been drafted Sunday for the Global T20 Canada event starting June 28.
The 29-year-old former skipper had already been announced as the marquee player for the inaugural edition of the tournament. Warner was selected in the third round of the draft by the Winnipeg Eagles, who also took West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo and South African left-hander David Miller in the first and second rounds respectively.
Smith was taken in the second round by the Toronto Nationals, and will play alongside West Indian stars Darren Sammy and allrounder Kieron Pollard.
The Canadian tournament will also feature teams representing Edmonton Royals, Montreal Tigers and Vancouver Knights, along with a Caribbean side.
Apart from the high profile cricketers, the tournament will also see some big names as the coaches of the teams. Legendary Pakistan quick Waqar Younis will take control of the Winnipeg, while Tom Moody, fresh off coaching Sunrisers Hyderabad to the Indian Premier League final will take control of the Montreal franchise.
Former West Indies coach Phil Simmons will mentor the Toronto side, with another former Pakistan quick and Pakistan Super League coach Mohammad Akram (Edmonton Royals) and Jamaican coach Donovan Miller (Vancouver Knights) are rounding out the coaching positions.
