Steve Smith replaces Shakib Al Hasan in Barbados Tridents squad for CPL 2018

Steve Smith replaces Shakib Al Hasan in Barbados Tridents squad for CPL 2018 (Twitter)

25 July,(CRICKETNMORE)। The Barbados Tridents have announced that Australian batsman Steve Smith will join their squad for the 2018 Caribbean Premier League which will run from 8 August to 16 September. Smith will replace Shakib al Hasan who is no longer available for the tournament. 

Smith has played 64 Tests, 108 ODIs and 30 T20 Internationals for Australia and is currently the number one ranked Test batsman in the world. With more than 3000 T20 runs, including a century and 11 fifties, Smith brings a huge amount of experience to the Tridents squad. 

The Tridents get their season underway with an away trip to the Guyana Amazon Warriors on 12 August before a match against St Lucia Stars on 17 August. The Tridents will then play Jamaica Tallawahs in Lauderhill, USA before playing five matches at Kensington Oval, Barbados between 25 August and 2 September. 

Speaking of the signing of Smith, Tridents coach Robin Singh said: “It is a huge blow to lose Shakib for the tournament but in Steve Smith we have a truly world-class replacement who can help to bring power to our batting lineup. As a man who has played cricket at the highest level all over the world we are very confident that Smith will be a big success with the Tridents.”