LAHORE: Multan Sultans have been dealt a blow with Australian batsman Steve Smith ruled out of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019 due to an elbow injury.
According to Cricket Australia, Smith will undergo surgery and is expected to wear a brace for six weeks before commencing rehabilitation.
The HBL PSL 2019 will be held from 14th February to 17th March. Smith is not expected to regain full fitness in this period.
“I am disappointed I won’t be able to play in HBL PSL but I wish Multan Sultans all the best for this year’s tournament,” said Steve Smith today.
“I was looking forward to playing the tournament and helping the team try to win the trophy. We have a talented team and I am confident that they will do very well”, he said
A Pakistan Cricket Boards spokesman on Smith’s injury said here “We are sad to lose a player of Steve’s caliber but we wish him a speedy recovery.”
“Hopefully we will see him in future editions of HBL PSL, the league fans would miss seeing him live in action this season,” he said.
Multan Sultans will now seek a replacement for Smith at the Replacement Draft later this month. The Replacement Draft date with the pick order would be announced in due course.
Relevant: 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. Following the surgery, the 29-year-old right-hander is expected to spend six weeks in a brace and then undergo extensive rehabilitation. A Cricket Australia spokesperson said Saturday that Smith’s return to playing will be made clearer once the brace is removed. The injury is a major blow to Smith, whose 12-month ban ends on 28th March. It is also expected to affect his chances of being picked in the national side for the World Cup as well as the Ashes series in England later this year. Test skipper Tim Paine this month urged Australia’s public to give Smith and his deputy David Warner, who is also banned, a second chance, saying he hoped “they’re welcomed back” into the national team, where their absence has left a big void. Australia recently lost a first-ever home Test series against India.