As the Australian squad prepares for a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, which will be swiftly followed by the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, the squad has been strengthened by news that Steve Smith’s elbow injury is not as bad as first feared.
Australia’s batting mainstay Steve Smith, who fell one short of the elusive 10,000-run mark in Test cricket during the Border-Gavaskar series, described the milestone as a “different beast” while revealing that the pressure of nearing the landmark affected him significantly during the fifth and final Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday compared wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant at par with England’s Joe Root and Australia’s Steve Smith as the best batters in the last seven years, when batting has become “significantly difficult and averages have decreased.”
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has backed Steve Smith as the opener as the clock ticks down to India’s tour Down Under for the gruelling five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.
Smith has been a rock in Australia’s middle-order for more than a decade, but was moved up to an unfamiliar role at the top alongside Usman Khawaja.
Steve Smith has been in immense form. He had an incredible Ashes series in England as he amassed 774 runs at a staggering average of 110.57 in the seven innings he played.
Smith averages just 27.48 in 35 matches in the shortest format of the game and the 30-year-old is eyeing to improve his record in T20I cricket.
It was another massive wake-up call for the Sri Lankans, who arrived in Australia on the back of a 3-0 series win against Pakistan but have now been outplayed twice, after being crushed by 134 runs in Adelaide on Sunday.
Smith is widely considered the best batsman in the world in Test cricket and he justified the tag by smashing a whopping 774 runs in the Ashes in August-September.
Rohit, who had been batting down the order in Tests for India, has been promoted to open the innings in the ongoing series against South Africa and the Mumbaikar paid dividends with the scores of 176, 127, 14 and 212.
