Steve Smith also served a two-year leadership ban for his role in the scandal. While Cricket Australia (CA) considers the matter closed, some sections still feel that Steve Smith should not be allowed to lead the national team
Steve Smith (Pic: File Pic)
Australia's stand-in skipper for the Sri Lanka series, Steve Smith is not bothered by people's opinions about his act in the sandpaper incident and he further said that he is comfortable in his own skin.
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Steve Smith, who was looking after the leadership duties in the 2018 Cape Town Test match against South Africa, will again lead the pack in Pat Cummins' absence against Sri Lanka.
Traditional former opening batsman David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were also found guilty of ball-tempering in 2018. Following the incident, the players received a ban for certain periods.
Steve Smith also served a two-year leadership ban for his role in the scandal.
He has since led Australia on four occasions in Tests versus England in Adelaide (2021), against the West Indies in Perth (2022) and two away Tests versus India in 2023.
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While Cricket Australia (CA) considers the matter closed, some sections still feel that Steve Smith should not be allowed to lead the national team.
"I mean, everyone's entitled to their opinion," Smith told Sydney Morning Herald.
"They can say whatever they like. I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin. (The environment) around the team has been good for a long time. I get on well with everyone inside. People are entitled to their opinion. They can say what they want," he added.
While Australia finally claimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after four attempts, defeating India 1-3 in the five-match series recently, Steve Smith missed the 10,000 Test-run mark by just one run.
He said while it was a "cool win" in the series, missing a personal landmark by just one run was painful.
"It was a cool summer to be a part of... and particularly after the way we fought back from Perth (defeat). Just as a collective, it was a really cool win. Our bowlers were unbelievable. Scotty Boland, the way he came in, was exceptional. He's unbelievable at the moment," said Smith.
Smith was left stranded at 9,999 runs in the fifth Test at Sydney after being dismissed by Prasidh Krishna in both innings.
"One run... it hurt a little bit at the time. It would have been nice to have ticked that off in front of all my friends and family here at my home ground, but hopefully, I can knock it off first thing in Galle (Sri Lanka, first Test).
"I probably let it wander (in my mind) too much throughout the game. It's a cool milestone to tick off," he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
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