Calcutta: Steve Smith has revealed that he "spent four days in tears" as the magnitude of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal and its penalties dawned on him.

On the day he and David Warner were picked up by teams in the forthcoming Global T20 Canada tournament, as part of their plans to return to competitive action while serving 12-month bans imposed by Cricket Australia, Smith spoke at Sydney's Knox Grammar School for the Gotcha 4 Life Foundation.

"To be honest, I spent four days in tears. I was really struggling mentally and I was really lucky that I had some close friends and family members that I could speak to at all hours of the day," a cricket-specific website quoted Smith as saying.

"The people that I had supporting me through that whole time made a huge difference to the head space I am in now."

While Warner took part in the New South Wales squad's two-kilometre time trial to start their pre-season training schedule, Smith is expected to keep training privately before making the trip to Toronto for a tournament where he will donate his fees to community cricket projects in Canada and Australia.

Warner will turn out for the Winnipeg Hawks in the tournament that runs from June 28 to July 15, while Smith - a marquee player - will play for Toronto Nationals.

After this tournament, Warner has committed to playing cricket in Australia's Northern Territory along with Cameron Bancroft, the third player to be banned during the scandal.

They will play in Darwin's limited-overs Strike League, with Bancroft committing to playing the entire tournament while Warner will play two games.

The Global T20 Canada meet will take place at Maple Leaf Cricket Club located in King City, Ontario, a small rural village 25 miles north of downtown Toronto.

Apart from Smith and Warner, some other high-profile internationals taking part in this competition include former Pakistan captain and all-rounder Shahid Afridi, Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga, and West Indies superstars Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, together with former captains Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo.

Smith is, at this stage, expected to continue training privately before playing T20 cricket with the Toronto Nationals in Canada.

Pakistan pace icon Waqar Younis will coach Warner at Winnipeg, while Smith's Nationals are being mentored by former West Indies coach Phil Simmons.