Win Projections to be updated soon
Due to injury, the Australian team’s main players will miss the Champions Trophy 2025, which is causing some unrest. Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc are among the players who will not be participating in the ICC event. Steven Smith, the batter who was deposed as captain in 2018, is now in a position to lead the team in a big competition after this development.
With a relatively youthful group, the World Cup 2023 champions have been urged by former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist to start Smith and Travis Head as openers.
Gilchrist has backed Smith just to maintain a left-and-right combination, even though Smith hasn’t performed well with the bat lately when he was tried as an opener. He also proposed the name of Matthew Short for the position.
Although it’s difficult right now, Smith ought to open. Where he was placed in the match versus Sri Lanka eluded me. Given that he is fit and fresh, Travis will undoubtedly be present. Additionally, I appreciate Matt Short’s presence because he can build a beautiful left-hand-right-hand combo, which is how I would prefer to go, Gilchrist stated on the ABC Summer Grandstand show.
“But I do think Steven Smith can open — we have seen him do that in 20-over cricket really well,” he said.
With an average of 30.25 and a maximum score of an undefeated 91, the veteran has only amassed 242 runs in six games and 10 innings of batting across all formats as an opener. He has only recorded two 50+ scores and has a strike rate as low as 63.68.
Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that Smith has never opened in an ODI. He scored 12 and 29, respectively, in the two games he played in the most recent series against Sri Lanka.
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