Melbourne [Australia], January 10 : With Pat Cummins on paternity leave, Steven Smith is set to return as Australia’s captain for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Smith views this opportunity as a chance to share his extensive knowledge of subcontinental conditions with the younger members of the squad.
Australia, having already secured a spot in the World Test Championship final, remains focused on preparing its young talents for the future. Players such as Nathan McSweeney, Cooper Connolly, and Sam Konstas have impressed in recent outings and are expected to play a role on this tour.
Smith, one of the most experienced players in the team, is eager to mentor the next generation. “I’ll try and pass on as much knowledge as I can. I’ve played a lot of cricket in the subcontinent, so I know those conditions really well,” Smith told Fox Sports. “We’ve got a good little training camp in Dubai where we can control the wickets and what they do.”
The Sri Lankan pitches are expected to favor spinners, and Smith believes the team will need to develop specific strategies to tackle the spin threat. “Hopefully, we’ll get them spinning a lot, and guys will be able to develop different plans to counter their spinners. The back end of my career is about helping those young kids and trying to help them find a way to be successful in all conditions around the world,” he added.
The two-match Test series will be played in Galle, with the first match starting on January 29 and the second on February 6.
Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.