Steve Smith, a former T20 World Cup champion, will board the flight to the USA. Only a few weeks ago, the 15-member squad did not include the former Australian cricket team captain. But now, it’s been confirmed that he’ll fly across the Atlantic for the mega-event starting on June 1.
Smith will travel for the T20 World Cup 2024 not as a player but as a commentator. The veteran batter has been included in the ICC’s official commentary panel for the event and will be the only active player on the 40-strong list. The panel also includes recently retired Dinesh Karthik and many former men’s T20 World Cup winners, like Aaron Finch, Samuel Badree, and Eoin Morgan.
Why Steve Smith wasn’t selected
T20 cricket is ever-evolving, and it seems like Smith has fallen behind. The batter has a strike rate of 125 in T20Is, and he hasn’t played in the best T20 league in the world (IPL) since 2021. With guys like Jake Fraser-McGurk not getting a place in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, it was guaranteed a slow batter like Smith wouldn’t find a spot either.
T20 World Cup
ICC’s full commentary panel for T20 World Cup 2024
Ravi Shastri, Nasser Hussain, Ian Smith, Mel Jones, Harsha Bhogle, Ian Bishop. Dinesh Karthik, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Samuel Badree, Carlos Brathwaite, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, Lisa Sthalekar. Ricky Ponting, Sunil Gavaskar, Matthew Hayden, Ramiz Raja, Eoin Morgan, Tom Moody, Wasim Akram. James O’Brien (Jomboy), Dale Steyn, Graeme Smith, Michael Atherton, Waqar Younis, Simon Doull, Shaun Pollock. Katey Martin, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Natalie Germanos, Danny Morrison, Alison Mitchell, Alan Wilkins, Brian Murgatroyd. Mike Haysman, Ian Ward, Athar Ali Khan, Russel Arnold, Niall O’Brien, Kass Naidoo, Daren Ganga.
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