Mitchell Marsh
Mitchell Marsh. (Credits: Twitter)

Steve Smith will bat at No. 3 against India since Mitchell Marsh will be out with an injury. However, Steve Smith’s position in Australia’s starting XI will change as the men’s T20 World Cup approaches. 

Due to the absence of Marsh, David Warner, and Marcus Stoinis, Australia will be without three of their top six players for the three-match series against India that begins on Tuesday in Mohali.

Due to an ache, Mitchell Starc is likewise taking a break. With only nine games remaining before launching their championship defence at home against New Zealand, Australia will build their team differently out of necessity.

Steve Smith, Australia, Australia vs Sri Lanka
Steve Smith. (Photo: Twitter)

Aaron Finch Having No Doubt Over Steve Smith’s Ability

However, Tim David’s inclusion in the team has raised doubts about his status in Australia’s starting XI for the World Cup due to his lack of striking strength in the middle order. Steve Smith has only batted eight times in his previous 12 games, with a strike rate of 107.20, which is lower than his already average career T20 strike rate of 125.27. 

Aaron Finch reinforced Australia’s confidence in Steve Smith’s talents as a flexible component in the lineup on Monday, confirming that Smith will probably bat at No. 3 in the series against India. 

Read More  Jason Gillespie to take charge as Pakistan head coach after terminating contracts with South Australia
Steven Smith
Steve Smith. Pic Credits: Twitter

“Most likely he’ll bat at three in this series with Mitch Marsh being out,” Finch said.

“We know the quality that Steve Smith’s got. He’s one of the best players that has ever played the game over all formats of the game. So we know the skill that he’s got and the game sense and the tactical nous that he’s got. 

“So we’re really confident that regardless of what role he has to play within the structure of the squad, that he can do that very, very well.” 

“There’ll be a little bit of mixing and matching, but still with that one eye towards the World Cup, to make sure that we’re still as rounded as we can be as a squad” 

There Will Be A Little Bit Of Mixing And Matching: Aaron Finch

With an eye on both the 2017 World Cup in Australia and the diverse circumstances that would be presented in the three matches in India, Finch revealed that Australia will experiment with the structure of their side and their people in various places. 

Aaron Finch, Steve Smith
Aaron Finch, Steve Smith. (Photo: Twitter)

“Every decision that we make, I think, has one eye towards the World Cup and seeing the wicket yesterday [in Mohali], it looked like there was quite a bit of grass on it,” Finch said.

Read More  Marcus Stoinis brutally punished by Cricket Australia

“And we know in Mohali, the ball can swing around and it can carry through quite a bit, so I think we will be mindful of not being too narrow-minded in terms of our focus. 

“What we’ve tried to do over the last sort of six-eight-ten months is make sure that everything that we’re doing in the T20 space ties back into the World Cup and, for us, it’s about making sure that once we get there that we’ve had plenty of different combinations of teams that we can play.

Because the last thing you want to do is have an injury derail your whole campaign because you’re pigeon-holed into playing one style of cricket or one structure of team.

So there’ll be a little bit of mixing and matching, but still with that one eye towards the World Cup, to make sure that we’re still as rounded as we can be as a squad.” 

Aaron Finch Believes Cameron Green Can Be A Three-format Player

Australia will be forced to restructure their bowling due to the loss of two all-rounders in Marsh and Stoinis as well as a left-arm fast in Starc. This will directly affect the top seven players they may choose. 

Read More  Not CSK! Steve Smith names the IPL team that will stay unbeaten in IPL 2024

After participating in 14 T20Is for Singapore, David is expected to make his Australia debut in the middle of the order as a direct replacement for Stoinis. But he only bowls off-spin seldom. 

Another player who may play if Australia wants a pace-bowling all-rounder is Cameron Green, who is not on the World Cup roster but is in India for this trip. 

Cameron Green
Cameron Green (Credits: Twitter)

Green has only played 14 professional T20s in his career, but he made his T20I debut for Australia during the recent tour of Pakistan. 

However, following his recent efforts in the ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Australia, Finch believed Green was capable of being a three-format player. 

“I think his ability to bat at five, six, seven in the one-day team has been really impressive,” Finch said.

“The fact that such a young guy was able to guide us home in a really tricky run chase, in a great partnership with Alex Carey in the recent series against New Zealand, shows that he’s got all the tricks and the game sense for such a young guy to be super successful in all three formats for Australia. 

“He’s just such a great kid, someone who continues to impress with everything that he does.” 

Also Read: IND vs AUS: “You’d Be Very Brave To Write Off Virat Kohli At Any Stage”: Australia T20I Captain Aaron Finch