- Australia are set to travel to Sri Lanka after the Border-Gavaskar series vs India
- But first they will be wanting to secure a series victory against India this week
Steve Smith is reportedly set to return to captain the Australian Test cricket side for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.
Pat Cummins is set to miss the two-match series with he and his wife, Becky Boston, expecting their second child to be born around the same time.
According to The Herald Sun, Smith is due to step in for Cummins for the upcoming Test series which begins on January 29.
It comes amid doubts over Smith’s form leading up to the Border-Gavaskar series had seen some question his inclusion in Cummins’ squad.
While Smith hadn’t struggled to put together hefty scores, he had not made a century since his June 2023, where he scored 110 runs against England at Lords. He did come close to ending the drought, hitting 71 at the Oval in July 2023, while also managing an unbeaten 91 against the West Indies in Brisbane last year.
It would take Smith 23 innings to hit a century, with the New South Wales batter ending his long wait with a score of 101 in Australia’s first innings at the Gabba against India.
Steve Smith is set to be announced as Australia’s Test captain for their upcoming series in Sri Lanka
It comes as Pat Cummins (right) is set to miss the summer tour with the captain and his wife expecting their second baby
Smith broke his long wait for a century in Brisbane before follwoing that up with a score of 140 in his first innings in Melbourne
He’d follow that up again in Melbourne with a score of 140 in the first innings and now needs just 38 runs to become the fourth Australian to score 10,000 runs.
Meanwhile, he can also tie Ricky Ponting for the most catches ever by an Australian fielder, with the Channel 7 pundit’s tally sitting at 196. Smith needs four catches to draw level with Ponting, with the former having played 54 fewer Tests than the former cricketer.
The news also comes nearly seven years after Smith stood down from captaining the Test side following the ball-tampering scandal that rocked the sport in 2018, with the batsman having initially succeeded Michael Clarke as Australia captain back in 2015.
Smith would return to the Test side and was appointed Cummins’ vice captain for the 2021-22 Ashes Series. He’d later take charge of four Tests when Cummins was unavailable due to Covid-19, notably leading the side to their first victory in India since 2017.
He is highly regarded as one of Australia’s greatest cricketers and copped praise from his captain, Cummins for his meticulous endeavours trying to improve his game.
‘I think it’s just that incredible drive to keep finding that one per cent improvement,’ Cummins said.
‘Whether he’s coming off a duck or a hundred he’s still in the nets the next day tinkering, kind of dissecting his innings – where he could have got better.
‘I think something that’s really stuck out to me which I think is rare is he always gets himself out in the game.
The New South Wales batter is just 38 runs shy of being just the fourth Australian batter to score 10,000 Test runs
Smith (pictured) can also overtake Ricky Ponting to take the most catches ever by an Australian star
‘Even if it’s really good bowling, he has such high standards he thinks he should be able to solve every problem that’s thrown at him.
‘And that’s what you see when he’s in the nets.
‘There’s no excuse for basically not scoring a 100.
‘That drive’s always been there and it’s incredible.’
It comes as Australia prepare to face off against India in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series in Sydney this week, with the hosts currently holding a 2-1 lead.
Cummins’ side have chosen to drop Mitchell Marsh for the clash after the Aussie Test great has struggled to find runs throughout the series.
Marsh has also struggled with an injury throughout the series, with Tasmanian debutant Beau Webster is set to take his place in the side.
