Australia batsman Steve Smith will turn out for the Comilla Victorians in the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

The Australia star will have his first ever taste of the BPL action as he continues to serve his one-year ban from international and domestic cricket.

Smith will join the Victorians as a replacement for Shoaib Malik who will be unavailable for the latter half of the tournament due his involvement in Pakistan’s tour of South Africa.

“He will come after the first four matches in the Dhaka phase and join the team in Sylhet,” Comilla Victorians coach Mohammad Salahuddin told AFP.

“Shoaib Malik won’t be able to play for the whole tournament. He will play in the first round and Steve will join after that,” he added.

The BPL is set to get underway on January 5 and will concluded on February 8. Smith will be joined by his former deputy David Warner in the BPL with the Australian left-handed batsman set to turn out for the Sylhet Sixers.

The one-year bans handed out to Smith and Warner by Cricket Australia for their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal comes to an end on March 29, 2019.

The BPL stint will be Smith’s third involvement in a T20 franchise tournament since he was served with his one-year ban. He took part in the inaugural Global T20 Canada earlier this year followed by a stint in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Post his engagements in the BPL, the Australian batsman will participate in his maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) stint in February where he will represent the Sixth Team.