Sydney: In the wake of Virat Kohli’s grand show against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, questions are being asked why the former India skipper’s contemporary, Steve Smith, was not in the XI when hosts Australia took on New Zealand in the ICC T20 World Cup Super 12 opener at SCG on October 22.
Smith, with his wealth of experience batting in pressure situations like Kohli, could have played a key role in the match against the Black Caps. Some experts feel Smith could have played a guiding role and Australia could have avoided an 89-run washout against their trans-Tasman rivals.
Australian allrounder Mitchell Marsh, when reminded if Kohli could have a spot in the India team, or Kane Williamson could be in the New Zealand playing XI, then why was Smith left out, replied the hosts already have a “pretty incredible batting line-up for a T20 side”.
“I think if you look at our team, we have a pretty incredible batting line-up for a T20 side. With Tim David coming to the side, we’ve gone sort of hitter-heavy towards the back end of the game, which I think will be really important if we can get off to a good start on the Australian ground. As I said before, we’re early on in the tournament. Things may change, but for now I think we have a really set 11 and one that I truly believe in,” said Marsh, indicating Smith might not be in their scheme of things in the next game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday as well.
Mitch agreed that the India-Pakistan match at MCG had really lit up the World Cup and wished the tournament “should stop” here.
“I actually just think we should stop the World Cup there. If it gets any better than that, we’re in for an amazing three weeks. India-Pakistan is always an incredible game to watch. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be in that crowd and to be a fan and to be a part of it. Yeah, amazing.
“Virat Kohli has been through an indifferent 12 months when you think about his career, and for him to do that, put his mark on the World Cup, it was an incredible innings to watch and an incredible game. Hopefully, there’s a few more of those,” added Marsh.
–IANS