Australia’s head coach Justin Langer has no headache for Steve Smith’s poor outing in the last two Test matches against India. He is confident that Australia’s batting mainstay will bounce back stronger in the third Test in Sydney, which is scheduled to begin on January 7.

Ravichandran Ashwin had made Steve Smith his bunny, getting him out two times in the last four innings. In the first Test, the Aussie was unsure how to play Ashwin and the spinner get the better of him sending him for one run in the first innings.

In the second Test, the off-spinner sent Smith for the duck in the first innings while Bumrah bowled the stalwart batsman behind his legs for 8.

Steve Smith coaches himself: Justin Langer

Speaking in a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Langer looked at the brighter side of Smith’s dip in form. He reckons that Smith doesn’t need his advise while the unorthodox batsman know how to overcome his flaws

“Imagine how good we will be when he does start batting – that’s how I look at it. He hasn’t had the best of series so far. He will be the first to admit that. My gosh, what I know about great players, the longer they miss out, the sooner they are coming good again. That puts a big smile on my face. How do you coach Steve? I don’t coach Steve Smith. Steve Smith coaches himself and I am sure he is going to work it out,” said Justin Langer.

Justin Langer added that Steve Smith will need to spend some time on the pitch to get his form back.

“Steve is always hitting a lot of balls. He did a lot leading up to it [MCG Test] but, again, there is nothing, even for the greatest of players, there is nothing that replaces time in the middle. And we know what a great problem solver he is, we know what a great player he is,” Justin Langer said.

Currently, the four-match series is levelled with 1-1 after India gave a humiliating defeat in the second Test. The Sydney Test will be thrilling as both the team will be looking to get the lead before moving to play the fourth and last Test in Brisbane.