Australian team pays a visit to Dalai Lama

What’s the story?

After what has been an intense series thus far, with aggression flying high on and off the field, it seems like the Australia skipper Steven Smith wanted some peace of mind, for which he took time out to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala on Friday.

"He (The Dalai Lame) is all about compassion and oneness for every human being and it was great to hear something like that from someone as prestigious as the Dalai Lama," Smith was quoted as saying by Wide World of Sports.

The 27-year old further revealed that he asked the Dalai Lama a question related to insomnia, and was hopeful that the reply he got would fix his irregular sleeping pattern.

"I asked him a question about sleep and how he could help me, and he gave me his blessing. We rubbed our noses together and gave me some blessings, so hopefully, it'll help me with my sleep over the next five days,” quipped the Australian skipper

In case you didn’t know..

Steve Smith, as reported by Cricket Australia, has long been plagued by bouts of sleeplessness and during this six-week campaign in India so far, he has struggled to manage anything more than four hours of sleep every evening.

The heart of the matter

India and Australia are currently preparing for the volatile fourth and series-deciding Test in the beautiful city of Dharamsala. So it was as timely as opportune that Steve Smith and a few others from the touring party made a 6km road trip from Dharamsala to McLeod Ganj this morning to meet The Dalai Lama.

Smith further indicated that the divine guidance pilgrims seek at McLeod Ganj, to immerse themselves in the aura of His Holiness, will resonate through the last Test against India beginning at HPCA Stadium tomorrow.

What’s next?

Both the camps will be looking to come up trumps at the series-deciding fourth and last Test. However, Virat Kohli’s injury is still a cause of concern for the hosts, who will be playing debutant Shreyas Iyer in the XI in case the Indian captain is not fit for tomorrow’s game.

Author’s take

Keeping aside the off-field imbroglio surrounding the series, it was a good gesture from Steve Smith to meet His Holiness. And hopefully, the peaceful vibes from today’s meeting can be carried forward to tomorrow’s game to avoid any further controversies.