Smith omission leaves Sixers star stunned
VETERAN Sixers spinner Stephen O’Keefe has urged Cricket Australia to make signing Steve Smith to the BBL its No.1 priority, with fans crying out for the game’s biggest stars this summer.
The problem for Smith is that the Sixers have finalised their squad after they resigned Mickey and Jack Edwards, which means the standin Test skipper can only join the squad as a replacement player for the overseas stars or if someone gets injured.
But that would mean he’d have to settle for match payments unless Cricket Australia offered him a similar deal to the one David Warner received to return to the Thunder for the first time in nine years.
It’s the second year in a row Smith’s availability for the Sixers has been in the spotlight after the other clubs blocked an application for him to play in last season’s final as the men in magenta battled injuries.
Smith would only be available for a few games due to Australia’s hectic schedule, but having one of the most popular cricketers in the BBL is a “nobrainer” according to O’Keefe.
“This game is crying out for the best players in the world, and the best players in the country. Steve Smith is that player,” he said. “Last year, he wanted to play and he would have played for peanuts. When we’re trying to build brands and we’re trying to build the quality of this, we need guys like Steve Smith playing.”
Leading Australian players Mitch Marsh and Glenn Maxwell will miss the BBL because of injury, although the latter is hopeful he can return from a broken leg at some stage.
Other international stars like Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt have also withdrawn, while T20 legends Andre Russell and Faf du Plessis will feature after they were originally overlooked in the draft.