Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis is confident that Shane Watson is still good enough to play for the national side after his stunning outing in the recently concluded IPL 2018.
The 36-year-old all-rounder, who retired from the International cricket back in 2016, has been phenomenal for the Chennai Super King (CSK) in the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League title, amassing 555 runs in 15 matches at an average of 39.64 this year.
He finished the tournament with two centuries, second came in the IPL 2018 final against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Mumbai.
Watson’s blistering 117 off 57 balls laced with 8 sixes and 11 fours helped CSK to beat the SRH by 8-wicket to clinch the IPL title for the third time in the T20 event at Wankhede Stadium on 27 May.
As per reports in Hindustan Times, Stoinis told RSN on Monday (28 May), “He’s still good enough to play for Australia, for sure. (But) I think he enjoys having family time. He played a lot of cricket for Australia in a demanding time, so I think he’s just enjoying playing the odd tournament and then going back (to his family).”
The 28-year-old further said that the Australian public never valued Watson throughout his 14-year-long international career. Stoinis signed off by saying, “We sat down over there (in India) and he’s mentored me for a couple of years now. His hunger to keep getting better at the end of his career, it’s no coincidence why he’s so good. I don’t think the Australian public realized how good he was when he was playing for Australia.”
