Ace Australian batter Steven Smith has shunned talks about his international retirement as he is aiming for a recall to the T20I side. He has also expressed a strong desire to represent his country at the 2018 Los Angeles Olympics. Notably, this will mark cricket’s return to the Olympic stage after a 128-years hiatus.
Smith’s long-term goals were jeopardized when he was left out of Australia’s squad for the recent ICC T20 World Cup. However, he showcased his prowess in the shortest format, competing in the Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament in the USA. The 35-year-old will continue to participate in the Big Bash League (BBL) and also have plans to return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he looks to maintain his presence in global franchise cricket. The veteran remains optimistic about his prospects as he believes he could still be active in four years in T20 format.
“I could still be playing T20 cricket in four years, so you never know. It’s a format I can see myself playing probably for a lot longer than some of the others, especially with the franchise stuff around the world. I’ve signed on here (Australia Big Bash side Sydney Sixers) for three years so it’s only another year after that. It would be cool to be part of an Olympics,” Smith was quoted as saying by the ICC.
Smith will next take part in Australia’s white-ball tour of the United Kingdom. He will take part only in the ODI series as being excluded from the T20I squad. However, his primary focus remains on the upcoming five-Test series against India at home, scheduled to begin later this year. It is worth noting that Australia has not secured a Test series victory against India on home soil since early 2015. Therefore, the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy is pivotal for them as they seek a series win.
“You can’t really hide in a five-Test series like you probably can in a two-match series for instance. If someone gets the wood on you, it can be hard coming back from that. It’s going to be a wonderful series.
“We are probably the two best teams at the moment in Test cricket. We played the World Test Championship final last year and beat them there. They’ve been great out here the last couple of times, they’ve played really good cricket, hopefully we can turn the tables. It’s been 10 years since we last won the Border-Gavaskar trophy so need to do that this year,” Smith said further.
