Following the retirement of David Warner from Test cricket earlier this year, Australia’s star batter Steve Smith expressed his desire to open the batting in the longest format and his wish was granted by the team management in the home series against the West Indies.
While Smith registered scores of 12, 11* and 6 in his first three innings, he returned with an unbeaten knock of 91 in the second innings of the Gabba Test to nearly take Australia over the line.
In the subsequent away series against New Zealand, Smith amassed only 51 runs in two Tests with the best score of 31. His next big challenge in the new role will be against India during the five-Test series at home later this year.
With less than three months remaining for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald remained tight-lipped about their plans for Steve Smith.
McDonald said discussions regarding Smith's role have been taking place and a final call will be taken closer to the Test series.
"That's the question on everyone's lips, isn't it? Whilst we've got an eye to it, we haven't made any firm decisions around that one. There’s plenty of speculation around that. But in the background, I'd be lying if I said the conversation wasn't happening. There are conversations around a lot of what ifs in terms of that Test summer that is to come," McDonald told SEN.
"Clearly, if we make a shift with Steve Smith, then someone else will have to go to the top. We've seen Cameron Green be really successful at number four as well. So that sort of adds layers to the decision-making. But nothing is firm and fixed on at the moment," he added.
The Australian selectors will be keeping an eye on the upcoming Sheffield Shield season to finalize spots in the Test team and identify back-ups.
McDonald said the Australian team management will convey its plans to New South Wales and assess Smith's progress for his club.
"We'll unveil everything, and we'll let (NSW coach) Greg Shipperd know what our plans are and then we'll see what he does with his New South Wales side should Steve Smith play Shield cricket," he stated.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 is slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth and the action will then shift to Adelaide, where both teams will face each other in a Day-Night Test. The last three Tests are set to take place in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.
India have won the last two Test series Down Under, while they have held onto the coveted trophy since March 2017.
