Simon Katich Says Steve Smith To Return To Form: Former Australian batter Simon Katich believes that Steve Smith, despite his age, can find his form in the remaining Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
We are now two matches into the five-Test Australia vs India Test series. The first match, with a Player of the Match performance by Jasprit Bumrah and centuries by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, was won by the Indian Cricket Team,
In the second match, the Aussies made a fine comeback as Travis Head scored a massive turn, Marnus Labuschagne returned to form, and the bowling attack fired as the Australian Cricket Team won the match by 10 wickets.
Check Out: Simon Katich Says Steve Smith To Return To Form
Despite the very different results of both matches, one thing has been consistent, not only in this series but also for the last few months: That is the form of Steve Smith in red-ball cricket. The modern-day Australian great, who has a career average of 56.09 in Tests, has averaged just 23.20 in 2024. Out of the 9704 runs in 11 matches in his career, Smith has only scored 283 in seven matches in 2024.
Smith even experimented with going up the order and opening for Australia, but that did not amount to much as he slid back down to the middle order. At the age of 35, it seems that the former national team captain is finally slowing down in his international career.
Simon Katich Says Steve Smith To Return To Form
Simon Katich, however, believes otherwise. Although the former Australian batting great believes that at this age, it is difficult to make a comeback, he reckons that Smith, with how good he has been in the past, can return to his good form.
On a recent appearance on the Around The Wicket podcast, Katich showed some concern over Steve Smith losing form with age, saying,
“It is a concern, those numbers (Test average this year). I am not going to write him off just yet because we know in these conditions he’s very good, but history would suggest that at 35, it’s tough, and you would think that it’s going to be to be back to his best. Because generally, 35-year-olds have been past their peak so he has got some tough challenges ahead.”
However, Simon Katich did go on to say that he believes in the fortitude of the former Aussie captain and says that he started looking comfortable in the last few innings despite early dismissals.
“And we know how great Steve Smith has been, averaging 60 in Test cricket and being the standout of this generation. I think the hard part is that second innings in Perth, he looked really good in terms of his movements and the way he was hitting the ball. He then got a pretty good ball from Siraj, and he was unlucky in Adelaide to be strangled down the leg side,” said Katich.
India will now face the Australian Cricket Team in the third match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from December 14 at The Gabba in Brisbane.
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