Australia coach backs under-fire Smith as opener for series against India
Rubbing salt to the injury, the 34-year-old Smith could only manage 51 runs from four knocks during the recently-completed 2-0 series victory over New Zealand.
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar had frowned upon England pace bowler Jofra Archer’s sportsmanship after Archer’s bouncer hit Steve Smith in the second Ashes Test which ended in a draw. In response to Shoaib’s tweet, former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh came up with quite a cheeky reply.
“Yes you did! But your actual words were hope you’re alright mate because there are a few more coming,” Yuvraj tweeted in response to Akhtar’s tweet.
Yes you did ! But your actual words were hope your alright mate cause there are a few more coming 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤪
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— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) August 19, 2019
Earlier, Akhtar had tweeted, “Bouncers are a part & parcel of the game but whenever a bowler hits a batsman on the head and he falls, courtesy requires that the bowler must go & check on him. It was not nice of Archer to just walk away while Smith was in pain. I was always the first one to run to the batsman.”
Bouncers are a part & parcel of the game but whenever a bowler hits a batsman on the head and he falls, courtesy requires that the bowler must go & check on him. It was not nice of Archer to just walk away while Smith was in pain. I was always the first one to run to the batsman.
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) August 18, 2019
It was the fourth day of the second Ashes Test when Smith, who was batting on 80, was hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer on the unprotected part of the neck. The medical professionals had run into the middle and even players rushed to check on Smith. He was taken off the field and although he did come out to bat again post Peter Siddle’s dismissal, he did not look as fluent and comfortable as he had been batting prior to getting hit.
Smith was then ruled out for the remainder of the match and was replaced by Marnus Labuschagne who became the first concussion substitute in Test cricket. It remains to be seen if Smith will feature in the next Test beginning on Thursday despite being optimistic about regaining fitness.
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