‘It has been weird with a bit of the commentary back home’ – Steve Smith slams Australian media over criticism on selection

Ahead of the fourth and final red-ball clash of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, stand-in captain Steve Smith slammed Australian press over their take on the team selection. His comments came after several news outlets and few former Aussie cricketers opined that the side should stick to their strengths in order to counter the Indian pitch conditions. 

Ahead of the fourth Test, Smith addressed the criticism regarding the team selection and termed it as ‘weird’. Furthermore, he emphasized on the impact the spinners had on the surface in the prior games. In the three concluded games, the spinners dominated the show with the ball. Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin managed to put up terrific performances in the games. 

"It's been weird with a bit of the commentary back home, people talking about us playing three quicks and one spinner. It's kind of mind-boggling to me when we look at these surfaces and we see what we've had – 11 innings in six days or something like that. Spinners have taken the bulk of the wickets and you see how difficult it is to play the spin,” Smith told during a press conference ahead of the final Test. 

We've had faith in what we're trying to do: Steve Smith

In addition to this, the star Australia cricketer added that the management understands how to play in the conditions. While there was much speculation from the Australian media wanting the side to play three pacers and one spinner, Smith took pride in obtaining the results with three spinners.

“We've had faith in what we're trying to do and it's good that we are able to show that we can play with three spinners and win,” added Smith.

Speaking about the results thus far, India have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a lead of 2-1 in the four-match series. Meanwhile, the Aussies under the leadership of Smith relished a sensational outing in the third Test in Indore to cement their place in the finals of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23.

Rohit Sharma and Co. require a win in the final Test to make their place in the global red-ball event finale when they play Australia on March 9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.