Cricket Australia (CA)on Wednesday, announced his 15-man men’s squad roster for the upcoming season T20 World Cup. Despite the inclusion of some well-known players, a prominent batsman was unexpectedly missing Steve Smith surprised many. While teams retain the opportunity to revamp their rosters until May 25, signs suggest Smith is unlikely to be a last-minute addition.
Steve Smith’s legacy in white ball formats
This is the first time in a decade that Smith has been left out of Australia’s World Cup squad, breaking a streak dating back to 2014. An integral part of the Australian cricket landscape, Smith has been a constant presence in the national team’s white-ball campaigns. They particularly contribute to their title wins in the 2015 ODI World Cup, 2021 T20 World Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup.
Decline in T20 participation
However, his involvement in the T20 format has declined over the years, as evidenced by his limited appearance in the 2022 T20 World Cup (he only played one match), as Australia shifted its focus to power hitters like this Glenn Maxwell, Marcus StoinisAnd Tim David.
George Bailey explains the reason for Smith’s absence
Chief selector and former captain of Australia George Bailey has provided insight into Smith’s exclusion from the 2024 T20 World Cup squad. Bailey acknowledged Smith’s recent successes in the shortest format and pointed out that the current team has a lineup well-suited to the top-flight.
“I think his (Steve Smith) best T20 work of recent times is right at the top of the list and at the moment we’re seeing that top spot really cleared. I still think he has a tremendous amount of good cricket ahead of him, in whatever formats, I think that’s entirely up to him.” said Bailey, quoted by Metro.
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Anticipation of the format change
Bailey highlighted Smith’s continued passion for T20 cricket, evident in his upcoming participation in the MLC tournament. He also acknowledged that Australia has had several players involved in different formats for extended periods, but it is inevitable that some will prioritize or phase out certain formats over the course of their careers, reflecting the natural development of players in a cricket context.
“I know he still enjoys playing T20 cricket – he’ll be playing some MLC later this year – so that’s still an itch he’d like to scratch. “We have had a handful of players, probably more than in some other countries, who have been into multi-formats for a very long time and it is natural that some of them will fade away.” Bailey added.