What’s the story?
Steven Smith paid a heartfelt tribute to India on Instagram after spending nearly four months in the cricket-mad nation as skipper of the Australian side that toured India followed by time in the IPL where he controversially replaced MS Dhoni as skipper of the Rising Pune Supergiant franchise.
Interestingly, Smith’s post on Instagram features a collage of photos with a picture of him celebrating with Dhoni in the IPL placed first, clearly giving out a message that he is on good terms with Dhoni. Next, in line, is Smith pictured alongside the great Dalai Lama when the Australian team paid a visit to the spiritual leader at Dharamsala.
The collage of photos also captures one of the many moments when he celebrated after destroying India with the bat as well as the highly amusing incident involving Wriddhiman Saha that was one of the few instances during the Test series that drew laughs from all parties.
Despite facing flak on numerous occasions during the India-Australia Test series that made as many headlines off the pitch as much as on it, Smith said that his time in India will remain an unforgettable experience. Referring to Dhoni and the Dalai Lama, the 27-year-old said that he had made new friends and met wonderful people and thanked everyone involved for making his stay a comfortable one in India.
In case you didn’t know.....
While both India and Australia played their hearts out on the field in what proved to be a gripping Test series, many controversial moments seemed to rob the series of the actual sporting aspect.
Sledging was a talking point throughout the series, while the ‘brain-fade’ incident involving Steven Smith himself as well as the Australians mocking an injured Virat Kohli didn’t paint the contest in good light. Following the series, Kohli even claimed that he didn’t have any good friends left from the Australian team.
The details
The controversial decision by the RPS team management to replace Dhoni as the skipper of the IPL side with Smith, just a day ahead of the auctions for the tenth edition of the tournament, didn’t do the Australian any favour with the already aggrieved Indian cricket fans.
However, the enigmatic cricketer has won most of them over, especially the RPS fans, with his splendid performances on the field as well as his captaincy. One thing that the Australian has managed to do pretty well is that he has not undermined Dhoni’s presence in the team thereby avoiding any unwanted controversies that could have risen regarding team politics.
With his Instagram post, Smith has re-emphasised that he has developed a good understanding that Dhoni. He also made it clear that despite all the not-so-good moments in the preceding Test series, his time in India has been a memorable one.
What’s next?
Smith’s highly successful time in India over the past four months, in which he scored 499 runs in the four-match Test series against India followed by 421 runs in 14 matches for RPS, comes to an end on today as he leads his side against Mumbai Indians in the final of the 2017 IPL at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Unlike the Test series, Smith will be hopeful that he can sign off from India on a winning note for what could be RPS’ final game in the IPL.
Author’s take
While Steven Smith has had his lows during his time in India over the past four months or so, often being in the limelight for wrong reasons as much as the good ones, his Instagram post looks like a frank admission of how he has felt during his time here.
The IPL which brings cricketers of different nationalities together and the two-month long extravaganza being a highly successful one for RPS has seemed to have done wonders to help Smith forge a good understanding with Dhoni & co.
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