Smith to undergo elbow surgery in ban return setback

SYDNEY: Former Australian captain Steve Smith will undergo surgery for an elbow injury, Cricket Australia said Saturday, in a move likely to have implications for his return to the international game with less than three months left on his ball-tampering ban.

Smith is currently serving a one- year ban from international cricket, Australia’s domestic Sheffield Shield and Big Bash leagues over a ball-tampering scandal during a Test match in South Africa last March. He was forced to drop out of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 tournament this week after playing only two matches due to the injury and is set to go under the knife on Tuesday to repair a ligament in his right elbow.