Steve Smith To Sacrifice T20 World Cup Participation To Be Fit For Ashes
Australia batsman Steve Smith has said that he is ready to skip T20 World Cup in order to be available for all the five Ashes Tests.
Australian batsman Steve Smith is one of the four horsemen in world cricket currently, while the Australian team immensely relies on him across formats. However, there seems to be sad news for Smith and the Australians concerning the upcoming ICC World T20.
Recuperating from an elbow injury, star Australia batsman Steve Smith says Test cricket remains his top priority and he is ready to skip the T20 World Cup to be in the best shape for the Ashes series against England.
The 32-year-old had withdrawn from the ongoing white-ball tour of the West Indies due to the elbow injury.
“There’s still a bit of time between now and (the World Cup), and I’m tracking okay at the moment – it’s slow, but I’m going okay,” Smith told cricket.com.au on Friday.
“I’d love to be part of the World Cup, for sure, but from my point of view, Test cricket, that’s my main goal to be right for the Ashes and try to emulate what I’ve done in the last few Ashes series I’ve been involved in,” added Smith.
Smith accumulated 774 runs in the 2019 Ashes, in which the Aussies retained the urn on English soil, and the right-hander stressed that he wants to have the same kind of impact in the upcoming Ashes series. The Australian also revealed that he was, in fact, not fully fit during the first half of the IPL, in which he’d turned up to play for the Delhi Capitals.
“I want to put myself in a position where I can have that kind of impact. If that does mean not partaking in the World Cup, then we’ll have to go down that path, but hopefully we don’t have to go there.
“I still wasn’t quite 100 per cent (during the IPL), it was still bothering me a bit, and I was playing over there medicated – taking some painkillers and anti-inflammatories every time I batted. It got to a point where it wasn’t really improving much, and it probably got a little bit worse while I was over there.”
Smith further said that the Ashes remain his primary focus and he will do everything to be fit for the all the five Tests.
“The Ashes is the primary focus from my point of view, so I need to be in a position where I can bat for long periods of time, and at the moment I can’t do that, which is annoying,” said Smith.
“But I’m getting there slowly, which is hard – for someone who wants to hit a million balls, it’s not great being capped at 15 minutes. But I understand now that this sort of thing can take some time, and if I want to get myself right for the summer, then I need to take these measures seriously, and take my time,” he added.
