India tour can give team status of all-time great: Steven Smith

Tags: Australia tour of India,2017, Australia, India, Steven Peter Devereux Smith

Published on: Feb 10, 2017

Australia captain Steve Smith has admitted that the upcoming tour of India,

Australia captain Steve Smith has admitted that the upcoming tour of India, where they will play four Tests, will be a massive challenge. At the same time, he stated that if they succeed they can be termed as "one of the all-time great" teams.
"If you do well in India, this will give you massive credit. This tour can get you to the status of one of the all-time greats. Yep, if I can have a big series, then we are well on the way to doing well in this series," Smith was quoted as saying in a PTI report.
"A win on this tour would be huge with the Ashes coming. If there is a tied series, that would be a huge tick for you! Absolutely a huge tick. A lot of people have written us off. We aren't really thinking of results. We just need to get our processes right.
"We must compete with showing signs of learning and finding ways to grind out tough situations. If we do these things we will have success, but in reality, it's about following the process and the results look after themselves," Smith went on to add.
The Aussie, who has an excellent record against India, and is regarded as best player of spin in the team, admitted that a lot will depend on how he performs with the bat in the series.
"I generally have been a good player of spin. I have my plans that I stick to and understand what works and what doesn't. I learnt a bit from Sri Lanka. I just stick to my game plan under pressure. I can't be content on little hundreds if I got there. It's about scoring big ones," Smith was quoted as saying in The Sydney Morning Herald.
"I think you have to play the way you play and the rest looks after itself. I must use the crease well and change my guards to keep them (Indian bowlers) guessing. I must adapt to different periods of the game and win the big moments," he further said.
The Aussie captain went on to that the India tour will Test his players' characters and personalities."Yes, definitely. That's my job to understand what makes them tick and help develop game plans that work for them. The boys often come to me on tactics and strategies. The training here in Dubai has been great as it's an open forum for honest discussions on each other's strengths and weaknesses," he explained.
Smith predicted that of the current crop, Peter Handscomb has the potential to do very well in India.
"Handscomb will do well. He has a great understanding and is a talented athlete. Things like being good in other sports actually help you being good in cricket. He plays spin well and uses the crease with scoring options," he concluded.
--By A Cricket Correspondent

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