Australia’s Smith Believes He Can Play A Big Role in This Year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Australia’s Steve Smith believes he can play a big role in this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign, should he be used in the defense of the host tournament.
Smith has been fit in Australia’s T20I team in recent times:-
Scoring just 69 runs in four innings in last year’s campaign, Smith has found it difficult to fit into Australia’s T20I squad in recent times, often being deployed to rebuild an innings after a poor start.
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Despite concerns about his game not being adapted to the shortest format, the 33-year-old believes he could be a valuable asset in the national colors.
As shown by the knock of 37 * (27) he could help the team. The series win against Sri Lanka in June.
“I feel like I’m definitely in that team when I’m playing good T20 cricket,” Smith told reporters on Tuesday.
“I think the role I’ve been given over the years is like Mr. Fix-It, and that tag was taking off me now (since the Sri Lanka tour).”
While not known for brute force with the bat, Smith has played several blistering knocks in the Australian colors, with all his four half-centuries in T20Is coming at a strike rate of over 140.
Can chase the target in front of home fans:-
Should he be assigning the run rate in the middle order, Smith feels he can praise Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, and others around him, either posting ominous totals or scoring goals in front of home fans. can follow.
“I thought I could go out and play naturally (in Sri Lanka) with a lot more freedom and not have any hesitation in the back of my mind like I needed to be a little more reserved.”
“I can just carry on with the game and if I want to hit someone for a six off the first ball, I am able to do it freely.
When I am at my best, I play freely. I look at the ball and hit the gap and look to use the middle of my bat as much as possible.
Meanwhile, Australia’s preparations for the tournament have suffered a minor setback after the news of Mitchell Marsh suffering an ankle injury.
Ideal Preparation for three-match T20I series:-
Set to miss out on ODI Super League matches against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, the Australian is hoping to take the all-rounder to India in late September. The three-match T20I series is ideal preparation for their tournament defense.
Marsh is Smith’s rival for third place. Although Smith acknowledged that his teammates will be playing a bigger role in the home campaign.
“It’s obviously not ideal for Mitchell. He’s been playing pretty good white-ball cricket lately.”
“He was obviously a big part of our T20 World Cup campaign last year. And I’m sure he has big plans for this year. So I think the priority is to get him right for him.”
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Australia’s T20 World Cup defense will begin on October 22. When they take on New Zealand in a rematch of the 2021 final in Sydney.