Australian batter Steve Smith is in contention to play his first match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 against Afghanistan. Australia’s trio of Aaron Finch, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis are facing some injury issues after the match against Ireland at the Gabba in Brisbane.
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The match against Afghanistan is a knockout one for the Australian side, and they will have to get a win anyhow in this match. Australian captain Aaron Finch finally found his form in the last match, where he won the Man of the Match as well, but his hamstring injury is a thing of worry.
The absence of Steve Smith has been questioned by many experts already, and it will be interesting to see how he will fare against Afghanistan at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.
Steve Smith ready to bat at any position if opportunity comes
Steve Smith is yet to play a single match in the tournament, but he may get his chance in the Afghanistan match. Australia is sweating over the fitness of Aaron Finch, Tim David and Marcus Stoinis. If any of them cannot make it for the match, Smith can certainly get his chance to feature in the playing eleven.
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Smith has said that he has been batting really well in the nets, and he is ready to take the opportunity with both hands. He insists that he is open to bat at any position for the team as he has been quite flexible throughout his career with his approach.
“Like any sort of tournament, I’m always preparing to play,” Smith said.
“I haven’t had an opportunity so far, but I feel like I’m batting quite well in the nets so if that opportunity does arise, I’ll look to take it with both hands.”
“There’s obviously a few different ways the team could play, and I’m sure they’ll talk about in the strategy (meetings) and talk about match-ups and things like that. I’m open to batting anywhere.”
Smith said that he plays in multiple formats, and he knows how to pace his innings in different formats of the match. He gave the example of Virat Kohli’s knock at the MCG and said that he wants to approach his innings in the very same way.
