Australia’s ace batsman Steve Smith is currently recuperating from his elbow problem at the moment and will be missing the white-ball tours to the West Indies and Bangladesh.
Speaking about his fitness and choosing between the upcoming T20 World Cup and the Ashes 2021-22, Smith said that his main goal is to fit for the Ashes series at home, and he might even pull out of the T20 World cup 2021 to be played in UAE and Oman if he must in order to be fit.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to run from October 17 to November 14, before Australia takes on Afghanistan in a Test match from November 27, with the first Vodafone Ashes Test beginning December 8.
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"There's still a bit of time between now and (the T20 World Cup), and I'm tracking okay at the moment – it's slow, but I'm going okay. I'd love to be part of the World Cup, for sure, but from my point of view, Test cricket, that's my main goal – to be right for the Ashes and try to emulate what I've done in the last few Ashes series I've been involved in,” Smith told cricket.com.au.
Smith boasts of tremendous record in Ashes encounters with a staggering 1,969 runs at 93.76 in 14 matches across the past three series, with eight hundreds. Therefore Smith wants to be 100% fit for the high voltage encounter.
"I want to put myself in a position where I can have that kind of impact. If that does mean not partaking in the World Cup, then we'll have to go down that path, but hopefully, we don't have to go there,” Smith said.
Opining on his elbow problem, Smith believes it stemmed from a change in his batting grip last summer and began with pain in his left wrist. He then went to India to participate in the IPL 2021, where he turned out in six matches for Delhi Capitals.
"I still wasn't quite 100 percent (during the IPL), it was still bothering me a bit, and I was playing over there medicated – taking some painkillers and anti-inflammatories every time I batted It got to a point where it wasn't really improving much, and it probably got a little bit worse while I was over there,” Smith said.
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Talking about his recovery and rehab process, Smith said, “I’ve made a bit of progress with it the last few weeks. Because it's a tendon (injury) it's basically how you (feel when you) wake up the next day, so I start at 10 minutes and if I wake up the next day and I'm good, then I can go up to 12 minutes, and if I wake up well again, I go up to 15.
Currently, that's where I'm at – 15 minutes – and I've got to build up to 45 to get myself to a point where the medicos believe I can be comfortable. The Ashes is the primary focus from my point of view, (so) I need to be in a position where I can bat for long periods of time, and at the moment I can't do that, which is annoying.”
Australia is slated to play their maiden Test match against Afghanistan from November 27 and then the Ashes 2021-22 will begin from December 8 at the Gabba.
(Cricket.com.au inputs)
