'I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin' - Steve Smith holds steady despite varying opinions upon return to captaincy

Ace Australian batter, Steve Smith, is all set to lead the Test side during the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka. This comes after regular Test skipper, Pat Cummins, confirmed himself to be unavailable for the tour due to the birth of his second child during that particular timeframe. However, the news was followed by widespread resentment within certain factions of the cricket fraternity, who felt Smith should not be entitled to lead the side after his involvement in the sandpaper scandal in 2018. 

Commenting on the same topic, Smith shared that he was unfazed by external opinions. He also expressed his team members' confidence in him, which is all that mattered to him.

“I mean, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. They can say whatever they like. I’m pretty comfortable in my own skin. (The environment) around the team has been good for a long time. I get on well with everyone inside. People are entitled to their opinion. They can say what they want," stated Smith, as quoted by The Sydney Moring Herald.

For the unversed, Cricket Australia imposed a severe 12-month ban from international and domestic cricket for Smith and the other team members involved in the scandal. Smith completed his suspension and made a comeback in the national setup in Australia's first World Cup encounter of the 2019 edition. 

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Would've been nice to have ticked that off in front of my friends and family: Smith

Although a tad disappointed for not being able to get to the 10,000-run mark in Tests, the standby skipper was hopeful that he would achieve the same in the series opener in Sri Lanka. 

“One run - it hurt a little bit at the time. It would have been nice to have ticked that off in front of all my friends and family here at my home ground, but hopefully, I can knock it off first thing in Galle (first Test of the Sri Lanka series). “I probably let it wander (in my mind) too much throughout the game. It’s a cool milestone to tick off," added Smith.

Smith has previously filled in for Cummins on four separate occasions after the latter took over the role in November 2021. He currently possesses 9,999 runs in his Test kitty and would hope to score a lot more runs in the upcoming series.