Steve Smith To Retire From Tests After Pakistan Series? His Long-Term Manager Delivers Update

Australia star Steve Smith’s manager has cleared the air surrounding his future in Test cricket. There are murmurs that the former Australia captain might follow his teammate David Warner and retire from the longest format of the game after the upcoming three-match series against Pakistan.

Warner has already announced that he would bring down the curtains on his Test career after the series against Pakistan. Steve Smith, however, has made no such statement in public so far. However, several reports have suggested that the right-handed batsman might decide to hang his boots after the Pakistan series.

His long-term manager, however, has rubbished all the rumors and stated that the star batsman still wants to achieve a lot in the red-ball format. The 34-year-old is within touching distance of becoming only the fourth Australian to score 10,000 Test runs and is no mood to retire anytime soon. He is also eyeing the T20 World Cup and the much-anticipated series against India in Australia next year.

“I can debunk that (retirement) at this point in time,” Steve Smith’s manager Warren Craig said to the SMH. He’s still talking about things he wants to achieve.

Smith has not really managed to perform according to his reputation in Tests in recent times. He has averaged 34 across nine Test matches since the end of last home season. In the ODI World Cup, he managed a modest 302 runs in 10 games.

Steve Smith to play in Big Bash League:

With an eye on next year’s T20 World Cup, Steve Smith has decided to return to the Big Bash League. He will participate in Sydney Sixers’ BBL opener against the Melbourne Renegades as a one-off appearance before leaving for Perth for the first Test against Pakistan.

Australia squad: (first Test only): Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner