When it comes to highest forms of the game of cricket, Steven Smith has been Australia’s mainstay batsmen for a number of years now. Smith’s record in Tests and ODIs speaks for itself. Ahead of the much anticipated Indian tour of Australia, Smith said that he is excited and is looking forward to the series during a virtual a press conference on Tuesday.
When asked about his performance in this year’s IPL for the Rajasthan Royals, Smith replied that he was quite disappointed with his performance during the IPL. “From my own standards, I wasn’t consistent enough. I didn’t get into a really good rhythm,” Smith said. However, the former Aussie skipper said that in the last few days, he has found ‘his hands’ and is really excited about it.
Having faced Indian pacers in the IPL recently, Smith said it’s completely different when it comes to international cricket. “Facing them in the IPL doesn’t really hurt but in international cricket it’s different. They are all bowling together. India has got a really good bowling line-up. They have proven it over a long period of time,” Smith said.
Having been on the sidelines in 2018-19 India tour of Australia due to ball tampering scandal, Smith said that it was difficult. “It was tough but I have been watching from the sidelines particularly with the team not doing as well as they would have liked to and losing that series. That was difficult to watch knowing that I could have gone and made an impact if I was playing,” said Smith.
The former Aussie skipper has an excellent record against India in both ODIs and Tests. When it comes to a big series, Smith always tries to bring out his best. Smith said that he is ready to bat at 3 or 4 in Tests if that is what the team wants from him.
When asked about the absence of Rohit Sharma in the ODIs and Virat Kohli’s return home after the first Test due to his child's birth, Smith said that it does leave a void, “Rohit is a tremendous white ball player and has proven it over the years at the top of the order. It does leave a hole but there are so many high quality batsmen coming into the Indian team like Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul who can bat on the top of the order. They have plenty of options. The same thing with Virat in the Test squad but they have batsmen who can do a good job," Smith said.
