Bolstered by his strong show at the Major League Cricket, veteran Australian batter Steve Smith is hopeful of returning to the Indian Premier League next year.
The 35-year-old, who was ignored for the T20 World Cup and the upcoming tour of Scotland and England, guided the Washington Freedom to its maiden MLC title, finishing the T20 tournament as the franchise’s equal leading run-scorer with 336 runs at a strike rate of 148.67.
Smith made a 52-ball 88 against a bowling attack that featured Australian captain Pat Cummins and Pakistan quick Haris Rauf in the final against the San Francisco Unicorns and was adjudged the player-of-the-match.
“I’d certainly love another opportunity at IPL. I’ll be throwing my name in the hat, and we’ll see how we go,” Smith was quoted as saying by FOX Cricket.
“I feel like in every opportunity I’ve had in T20 cricket recently and franchise stuff, I’ve played quite nicely. So hopefully I just keep putting my name up there and enjoying it.”
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Smith has not featured in the IPL since 2021, having gone unsold in the previous two auctions.
With the national selectors preferring youngsters, the veteran also opened up on his axing and said he would go about his business trying to get better.
“In terms of international T20s, I don’t know what’s going on there,” Smith said.
“They’ve obviously got some people they want to bring in, and that’s fine.
“I understood the way that they wanted to stack up for the World Cup, with all the strong guys that smack it miles. I understood that.
“I’m not that fussed. I’ll just go about my business, keep trying to improve and get better.” Asked about giving a shot at winning gold at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, Smith said: “That’s still a while away as well, so we’ll wait and see. Never say never.
“I did watch quite a bit (of the Paris Olympics). I quite enjoyed it.”
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