“Shocked and disappointed”: Steve Smith reacts to allegations of erasing Rishabh Pant’s batting guard in Sydney Test

Steve Smith: The Australian batsman has expressed disappointed with all the allegations doing the rounds around him.

Australia batsman Steve Smith has unintentionally became the topic of discussion since yesterday after a video of him shadow practicing at the pitch had gone viral and not perceived in the best of manners.

It all had happened during a drinks break in the first session on Day 5 when Smith was seen standing where India wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant normally took his batting stance.

Smith, who is known for shadow practicing upon getting any possible opportunity, appeared to be doing the same. However, Smith marking a batting guard was perceived as him trying to scuff Pant’s guard on purpose.

The aforementioned opinion underwent a snowball effect to the extent that some former cricketers (including non-Indian ones) and millions of Indian fans alleged Smith of foul play in the form of both scuffing Pant’s guard and deteriorating the pitch condition.

Steve Smith reacts to allegations of erasing Rishabh Pant’s batting guard at the SCG

While all Pant needed to do before resuming batting was to take a new guard, something which batsmen tend to do multiple times during their innings, the question of deteriorating the pitch condition was nonsensical because any ball pitching where Smith scuffed would have been converted into a full-toss.

Speaking in an interaction with News Corp, Smith expressed shock and disappointment around people perceived his actions at the SCG yesterday. Laying emphasis on his habit of marking a guard, Smith considered the allegations were not doing justice to an otherwise “great batting performance” by India.

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“I have been quite shocked and disappointed by the reaction to this. It’s something I do in games to visualise where we are bowling, how the batter is playing our bowlers and then out of habit I always mark centre. It’s such a shame that this and other events have taken away from what was a great batting performance by India yesterday,” Smith was quoted as saying by News Corp.

Even if Smith had no ill-intention in his mind while marking a guard, the 31-year old player can restrain from doing the same especially when it has it in it to be perceived in a whole different way.