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Cape Town - Former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith has been appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as an ambassador for the ICC Champions Trophy.
Smith was one of the eight ambassadors picked by the ICC to promote the knock-out tournament, which begins in June in England.
He joins Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka, Australia's Mike Hussey, Shahid Afridi of Pakistan, Shane Bond of New Zealand, Ian Bell of England, India's Harbhajan Singh and Bangladesh's Habibul Bashar.
The ambassadors will be involved in the tournament's Trophy tour and will also make appearances in the UK providing school children with an opportunity to meet and play with a legend at coaching clinics.
In addition, the eight former cricketers will be part of a strong ICC editorial team and will provide match previews and match analysis through exclusive columns.
Smith captained the Proteas in the 2004, 2006 and 2009 Champions Trophy tournaments and was delighted with his appointment as an ambassador.
"I am very pleased to be appointed as an ambassador by the ICC for this summer's ICC Champions Trophy," Smith told the ICC website.
"It's a huge honour and brings back a lot of fond memories for me. The heat of battle at the ICC tournaments I experienced was intense but always great fun.
"I am sure the Champions Trophy coming up this summer in the UK will be no different... bring on the Champions Trophy!"
Smith, who retired from international cricket in 2014, played 117 Tests and 197 ODIs for the Proteas.
The ICC Champions Trophy will run from June 1-18 with the Proteas seeded third in Group B alongside India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Proteas' ICC Champions Trophy schedule:
Saturday, June 3 - Sri Lanka v South Africa, The Oval
Wednesday, June 7 - Pakistan v South Africa, Edgbaston
Sunday, June 11 - India v South Africa, The Oval
Wednesday, June 14 - First semi-final (A1 v B2), Cardiff
Thursday, June15 - Second semi-final (A2 v B1), Edgbaston
Sunday, June 18 - Final, The Oval
Monday, June 19 - Reserve day
The @icc #CT17 trophy is in Johannesburg, @OfficialCSA catch it on display tomorrow at Sandton city mall, Johannesburg #NissanTrophyTour pic.twitter.com/l1EviEwREn
— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) April 6, 2017
