George Bailey explains Steve Smith’s omission from T20 World Cup

Star Australia batter Steve Smith was dropped from Australia's 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is slated to begin on June 1. It was reported for weeks that the cricketer was on the verge of missing out on the mega tournament, given his T20 records not being great lately. 

Meanwhile, chief selector George Bailey explained that they were considering Smith as a top-order batter, where he has done well for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, but since it’s stacked at the moment, Smith had to miss out. The likes of David Warner, Travis Head and newly-appointed skipper Mitchell Marsh made the cut as top-order batters, leaving no room for Smith. 

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Bailey however motivated Smith saying that he has an enormous amount of cricket still left in him and expects him to do well in the opportunities that the 34-year-old will get in the coming times.

“I think his (Steve Smith) best T20 work of late has come at the top of the order, and at the moment, we see that top order being really settled. I still think he’s got an enormous amount of good cricket left ahead of him, across what formats, I think that’s as much up for him to decide,” Bailey was quoted as saying by Metro.

Notably, Smith couldn’t fit in the category of players Australia wanted for the T20 World Cup. Since they will play four matches in 11 days and then the Super Eight, the management wanted players who are dynamic and can fill in any spot. Josh Inglis won the race as he can bat anywhere in the order and can also be Australia’s backup keeper. Since the number of matches are more this time around, the 2021 champions also picked up an extra seamer and spinner, which forced Smith to miss out.

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“We're just looking to get the balance that we want in terms of getting across there and playing each game, different opponents, different venues different surfaces and wanting to get all 15 players on the selection table for each and every game to be able to have those discussions to structure up how we want,” Bailey said.