Ban expires! Steve Smith again eligible for Australia captaincy

Currently, Aaron Finch is Australia's limited-overs skipper while Tim Paine is leading the side in the longest format of the game.

New Delhi: Former Australian skipper Steve Smith is now eligible to lead the side as his two-year captaincy ban has expired on Sunday.

Smith's ban ended at a time of crisis when no cricket is being played globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steve Smith playing a shot against England during a 2019 World Cup match.

Cricket Australia imposed a two-year captaincy ban on him for his involvement in the sandpaper gate scandal against South Africa in 2018. He admitted that he had allowed opener, Cameron Bancroft, to use sandpaper to manipulate the conditions of the ball during their third Test in Cape Town.

Steve Smith's captaincy stats

The incident led Smith to lose his captaincy, David Warner got one-year ban while Bancroft received a nine-month ban from international and domestic cricket.

Smith had successfully returned in all formats. He last played an ODI against New Zealand in an empty stadium which Australia won by 71-run.

Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for a year from playing any form of cricket for their involvement in ball-tampering scandal.

Smith had a great Ashes tour as he scored 774 runs, the most runs in a series in this century. He is currently the number one batter in the ICC Test rankings.

Currently, Aaron Finch is Australia's limited-overs skipper while Tim Paine is leading the side in the longest format of the game.