Steve Smith won't be getting chances in T20Is anytime soon: Nikhil Chopra

Even after Australia massively failed to get a win against New Zealand in their first match of the 2022 T20 World Cup, Aaron Finch and company didn’t consider bringing in Steve Smith, one of their greatest cricketer of all time. Smith, who has a strike rate of 125.34 in T20I cricket, failed to capitalise on his spot in the playing XI after a poor run of form in the shortest format of the game. He is replaced by young sensation Tim David, who took the cricketing world by storm with his few breathtaking innings’ in recent times.

With that, former India international Nikhil Chopra believes that Smith might have to wait for a long time before getting back into the side. The 48-year-old believes that the former Australia captain is unlikely to get into the playing XI until and unless someone gets ruled out because of an injury.

“I think, the combination that captain Aaron Finch is going with is pretty much a settled one. That’s why I don’t think he will get an opportunity anytime soon, until and unless any of their top-order batters get injured. Only then, he might find a place. Now, Steve Smith is a very senior player and sitting outside, what can he do? He can prepare himself mentally,” said Nikhil Chopra on BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker.

He will come and cause a miracle is something that’s too much to expect: Wasim Jaffer on Tim David

Tim David, who replaced Steve Smith in the squad has a phenomenal strike rate of 159.81 in 11 T20Is he played for Australia. The 26-year-old has proved his class before earning his spot in Australia’s World Cup squad but hasn’t been at his absolute best so far in the tournament.

However, former India international Wasim Jaffer isn’t dismissing him but backing him to do well in the remaining games. He said it is too much to expect from the youngster to come in and make an instant impact as with time, he’ll prove his worth.

“He has given a lot of good performances. He played really well in various leagues all around the world and has also done well in the limited opportunities he got to play for Australia. He did well when he came to India. You can expect to flop in a couple of matches. He got out in the first match and I think he remained not out in the second.

"So, to expect that he will cause a miracle right away is something that’s too much to expect. He’s a quality player. Even in IPL, he helped Mumbai Indians win a couple of matches on his own. So, the quality is there and I hope Australia keeps on backing him and they actually should do that,” said Jaffer on the same show.

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