It seems Australian management’s decision to pull out skipper Steve Smith midway through the ongoing limited-overs series in Sri Lanka has evoked plenty of reactions from the cricket community.
South African duo of Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn took to Twitter to take a dig at the 27-year old batsman.
All-rounder Farhaan Behardien shared his relief on returning home after a globetrotting season by alluding, “Waking up in your own bed. #priceless.” However, Steyn utilized the opportunity to poke a joke at the Australian skipper.
The speedster replied, “Steve Smith agrees” before rounding off his message with a funny emoji. Some of the responses were even more hilarious with one user referring to England spinner Graeme Swann as Smith’s role-model while another reminded the South African of their history of choking in ICC tournaments.
Swann had retired in the middle of a tumultuous Ashes tour in 2013-14 when Mitchell Johnson terrorized his team. In this regard, Graeme Smith wanted to know where the traditional Australian grit had gone.
Renowned to be one of the toughest batsmen during his time, the former Proteas skipper argued, “Did I C that #stevesmith is being rested?can only imagine previous @CricketAus captains saying #WTF! Well certainly the 1s I played against!” (sic)
Erstwhile England batsman Owais Shah joined the discussion by referring to the good old days. He quipped, “@GraemeSmith49 @CricketAus looks like times have changed biff..... The Aussies are getting soft....You did play years ago!! #oldman.” (sic)
Also Read: Why 'resting' Steve Smith mid-way through the tour is a knee jerk reaction?
Following a 0-3 whitewash in the Test series, Australia’s frailties against the turning ball were exposed once again and they relinquished their number one Test ranking. Despite an opportunity to pull things back during the limited-overs leg, the visitors pulled out Smith from the remainder of the Sri Lanka tour citing heavy work-load.
While admitting that Steve Smith needed some convincing, Australian coach Darren Lehmann had revealed, “As a coach and a selection panel, we're making sure he's fresh and ready to go each and every time he plays for Australia. We just wanted to make sure that he's fresh and ready to go for South Africa and then the big summer ahead. It was well-planned and well thought out, and that's what we're doing.”
With the Aussies scheduled to travel to South Africa for an ODI series at the end of September before kick starting their home season with a 3-Test series against the same opponents, Steve Smith will have an opportunity to respond to Steyn’s thoughts.
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