Smith, Warner to return for IPL

Disgraced Australian stars Steve Smith and David Warner will make a comeback in next year's Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, their franchises announced Thursday.

Both Smith and Warner were barred from participating in the lucrative league this season after their involvement in a ball tampering scandal.

Rajasthan Royals named Smith in their squad and Warner stayed with Sunrisers Hyderabad as the 12th IPL officially kicked off with the announcement of player retention from all franchises.

The duo are serving one-year international bans but recently padded up for club cricket in Australia.

Warner, who had led Sunrisers to victory in IPL 2016 edition, and Smith, captain of Royals, were suspended just ahead of the 2018 edition by the league's governing council.

Royals and Sunrisers have not named their captains for the upcoming season.

Apart from Smith, Royals also retained their England stars in Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and New Zealand's Ish Sodhi.

Overseas stars to join Smith in Sunrisers include Australia paceman Billy Stanlake, New Zealand's Kane Williamson, Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh and Afghanistan stars Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi.