Australian cricketer Steve Smith’s retirement news following Australia’s 4-wicket defeat in the Champions Trophy semi-final against India at Dubai has left everyone in awe, questioning his place in the Test Squad; however, Smith has made it clear to the cricket world about his retirement news.
The 35-year-old Smith was trusted with the leading duties after Pat Cummins was injured and missed the tournament, along with the pacer Mitchell Starc.
Smith, who started his career as a leg spinner in the 2010 test match, became one of the No. 1 Test batters of his era.
The twist-and-turn career of Steve Smith saw Smith turn from a part-time spinner to the number 1 batter in Test cricket. From the ball-tampering case of 2018 and getting banned for 12 months from international and domestic cricket to coming back with 774 runs in the Ashes series in 2019, he has silenced the critics.
Highlights of Smith’s Career
Steve Smith debuted for Australia from T20i as a regular spinner against Pakistan in Melbourne on February 5 while emerging out as the finest batters of Australia.
He debuted in the ODIs for Australia against the West Indies at Melbourne on Feb 19, while his first test appearance was against Pakistan on July 13 at Lords.
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Smith made the breakthrough of his career in 2015 and showed his skills as a batter in the 2015 ODI World Cup, scoring 402 runs in the tournament. He cemented his place in the squad after Clarke retired from the ODI following the World Cup triumph.
The twist in his cricket career due to the ball-tampering case in 2018 led to a 1-year ban from cricket; however, Smith’s comeback in 2019 was the one that represents the highlight of his batting. Smith was also part of the Australian squad that won the T20 World Cup in 2021 in the UAE.
Smith helped Australia win the 2023 World Test Championship final against India with his 121 runs at the oval while he made crucial contributions in the 2013-14, 2017-18, 2019, and 2021-22 ashes series.
His contributions with the bat in the Border Gavaskar Trophy against India 2014-15, scoring 769 runs in the 4 test match.
However, Smith made Australia qualify for the semi-final for the first time since 2009 despite the absence of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the squad. He contributed with the bat in the match with crucial 73 runs, but Australia fell short of runs to defend in the second inning, with only 264 runs on the board, which was chased by India in the 48th over.
Smith played 170 matches for Australia in the ODIs while smashing 5800 runs in the 154 innings he played. His strike rate in ODIs is 86.96, while his average is 43.28, and his highest score in the format is 164 runs. He has 12 centuries and 35 half centuries for Australia in this format.
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