Conditions in Dubai quite similar to India, says Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith

JAIPUR: The forced lockdown due to Covid-19 has offered new learnings to everyone and Steve Smith is no exception. From finding ways to engage with fans on social media -- by offering batting tips - buying fresh produce from local markets in Sydney to trying his hand at cooking, Smith has done it all! He also didn’t forget to show off his immaculate swing at a nearby golf club on his Instagram account.
With the Indian Premier League set to be staged in Dubai albeit inside a bio-secure bubble beginning September 19, this long inactivity does bother the world's best batsman, who also doubles up as the skipper for Rajasthan Royals.

"Yeah, it has been challenging. A lot of players haven't played any cricket. From that point of view its sort of an even contest. Everyone's going in there (Dubai) with the same sort of preparation, which is nice. Guys are trying to get their cricket back. Riyan (Parag) was telling me that he was hitting a ball in his backyard. People were trying to play their cricket in any way they can. It certainly will get very exciting when IPL rolls for sure," Smith told reporters via video conferencing during the launch of Rajasthan Royals' behind-the-scenes documentary ‘Inside Story'.
Asked how the New South Welshman would be approaching the T20 league, Smith said: "Part of being a professional cricketer is to adapt to any condition you are faced with and that is going to be the clear message from me and the coaching staff. Conditions in Dubai can be similar to what you get in India or it can be different, it's about adapting on the run to what the condition suits. Couple of players have experience of playing there before. The IPL was there in 2014, so a lot of people have played there before. I think guys will be just jumping out of their skins to play some quality cricket. Obviously it's disappointing that it's not in India. We would have absolutely loved to play there."
But before the tournament is staged in Dubai, the Australian will be travelling to England to play three One-Day Internationals and possibly an equal number of Twenty20 Internationals, though the schedule is yet to be made official. This opportunity will also help Smith compete against his Royals teammates - some of whom have been in top form of late - Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.
"It will be great to be back playing some cricket since February. Like most of the world we also had to shut down and find a way out through this Covid-19 experience which has been incredibly different for everyone. It will be great to be able to play some cricket, some good competitive cricket against a quality England outfit. Hope a few of my Royals teammates there (Stokes, Archer, Jos Buttler) don't score too many runs or take too many wickets. They can save that for the IPL," Smith said.

While Smith boasts of 7227 runs (@62.84) in Tests and 4162 runs (@42.46) in ODIs, comparatively he has been an underachiever in the shortest format including IPL. He has scored 2022 runs in the IPL at a modest average of 37.44 from 72 innings, which includes just 759 runs from 29 innings at an average of 33 for the Rajasthan outfit. One reason for his poor scores can be attributed to missing out on an entire season in 2018 due to the ball tampering episode.
On the brighter side, his winning percentage stands at 75 (winning nine out of 13 games), is the best in the IPL. Probably that is why the Royals turned to Smith after losing six matches out of the first eight last year and handed him the reins while sacking Ajinkya Rahane in the middle of the 12th IPL season..
"The reasoning from the coaching team last year in particular was firstly to unlock Smith's batting potential. We know how incredible batsman he is and just to take that pressure off him by taking that captaincy and to unlock that batting potential with Steve having the highest batting percentage as IPL captain and who loves that responsibility. Hence, that communication was given. And that communication helped as we won three out of five matches then," Royals COO Jake Luch McCrum said.
Of late Stokes has proven infallible in all formats with his all-round abilities and Smith was all praise for him – hinting that he will be in great demand in next year's T20 World Cup in Australia. "I have seen Stokes go from strength to strength. He had an incredible World Cup and recently played in Test matches. He bowled beautifully and got some wickets as well. He is a player who wants to be involved whether he is batting, bowling or fielding. He wants to be in hotspots. You want these players in team as they want to deliver in tough situations."
On the family front, Smith admitted that staying in a bio-secure environment away from "loved ones" is extremely difficult but elite cricketers like him hardly have any option.
"It will be difficult for anyone to be away from their loved ones for extended periods of time but you kind of get used to it playing international cricket, quite often staying apart for long times and trying to make it work," he signed off.