Daniel Christian comments on CA blocking Steve Smith's participation in BBL 2021/22

All-rounder Daniel Christian has joined the list of Australian cricketers to lambast the BBL and Cricket Australia authorities for blocking the path of Steve Smith’s comeback to the T20 League.

Smith, who has previously featured for the Sydney Sixers in the BBL, has been barred from playing for the franchise in the qualifying final by CA due to the introduction of a recent rule.

The Sixers have a spare spot in their squad but the new rule, which was introduced on January 10, mandates that franchises name replacements from a pool of local players inside the Melbourne bubble.

Following the development, Christian took to his Twitter account and wrote:

“@bbl can’t attract the best OS players in the game for the whole comp due to ‘conflicting schedules’ (aka we pay less and it goes for too long). But when 1 of our local Aussie stars unexpectedly becomes available and wants to play, CA says he can’t. Ch7 & Fox must be thrilled.”

Smith wasn’t originally contracted to the Sixers at the start of the season, unlike his Test teammates like Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja. The duo turned up for the Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder, respectively, following the conclusion of the Ashes.

"I think it’s sad for cricket, that’s all" - Moises Henriques on CA blocking Steve Smith's entry in BBL

Christian is not the only person to have voiced his outrage against CA’s decision to ban Smith from featuring in the BBL thus far. Sixers’ skipper Moises Henriques has termed the development “absolutely baffling”. Henriques was quoted as saying by news.com.au:

“To say (I’m) a little bit disgruntled would be an understatement. You’ve got IPL teams who pay multi-million dollars just to have this guy as part of their franchise and we’re saying no because of a rule that’s two weeks old. To me, I just don’t get it."

He added:

“We’re in the top two without him, so I have got absolute belief in our domestic talent and local talent to do the job. I think it’s sad for cricket, that’s all."

Meanwhile, the Sixers are on the brink of a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Perth Scorchers in the qualifying final. At the time of writing, they have slipped to 99/9 in 17 overs during their run-chase of 190.