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Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has asserted that Steve Smith is firmly in their plans for the upcoming T20 World Cup in June.
Smith hasn't been at his best in T20I cricket for a while now. The 34-year-old did not find a place in the playing XI for the opening T20I against New Zealand in Wellington due to his low strike rate compared to other Aussie batters.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, McDonald stated that Smith wouldn't be on the plane to New Zealand if they didn't see a role for him. The 42-year-old also stated that the right-handed batter missed out on the South Africa tour due to a wrist injury.
"If he wasn't in our thinking then he wouldn't be on the plane over here. We're playing him for a reason. He'll get some opportunity here, he had some opportunities in India at the back end of a World Cup and we were planning for him to play in South Africa as well going as far back as August-September (last year), but he unfortunately had a wrist injury at the time, so he missed those three one-dayers. But he's definitely in the thoughts," McDonald was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
Smith scored his most recent T20I half-century against India in Vishakhapatnam after the ODI World Cup. With 1079 runs in 65 T20Is, he averages only 25.69.
"We've got a lot of our players in IPL as well" - Andrew McDonald
McDonald revealed that Australia are yet to zero in on their 15 players for the 2024 T20 World Cup and that the upcoming IPL will also be a parameter to choosing the final squad.
"There's 20 players that are in our thinking, we're not settled in terms of the final 15 at this stage and that's why these games are really important. And we've got a lot of our players in IPL as well, so we get another look at what certain players are doing in that competition which is probably the biggest connection to international cricket. I think it's the best competition in the world, in terms of domestic format,"
Smith is likely to open the innings in the second T20I against New Zealand in Wellington on Friday, February 23.
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