5 reasons why this could be a defining tour for Steven Smith as captain

#2 Opportunity to join the elite league

Smith has one of the toughest challenges as captain

Not many Australian captains have won a Test series in India. In fact, winning a Test series in India is not every captain’s cup of tea and records are a testament to it. Only four Australian captains have managed to win a Test series in India – Ian Johnson, Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry and Adam Gilchrist. Even Ricky Ponting, who led Australia to two World Cup titles, will find this record missing in his glamorous cricket chronicle.

It’s an opportunity for Smith to join the elite league of Australian captains and script his name in the history of Test cricket with gold. Also, Australia have not won a single Test series in India since 2004. Since then they have toured Indian on three occasions – 2008, 2010 and 2013, without much success. In fact, they haven’t manage to win a single Test in the last 10 encounters in India.

The last time Australia won a Test series in the subcontinent was back in 2011, where they beat Sri Lanka by 1-0 in a three-match series. Since then, Australia have played three Test series in the subcontinent without winning any.

They were first whitewashed by India after which Pakistan inflicted a similar damage in 2014/15 in the UAE followed by the horrendous Sri Lankan tour. This is a massive opportunity for Australia to break the jinx and end their losing streak in India and also the subcontinent.