I Love India And I Really Enjoy Being Here For Long Periods – Steven Smith

Jul 4, 2017 at 5:59 PM

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I Love India And I Really Enjoy Being Here For Long Periods – Steven Smith

India holds a special place in Steven Smith’s latter half of the career which has made him one of the most sought after cricketers in the world right now.

After all, it was India where his Test career revived in 2013. The Australia skipper, who had started his career primarily as a leg-spinner, was left in the cold after the disastrous Ashes series of 2010-11 but he was given a rare chance in the Mohali Test in 2013. In a series where Australia’s leading batsmen were struggling throughout, Smith scored 92 in his very first innings and has not looked back since then.

Four years later, Smith returned to India as Australia’s Test captain and although the series result was not in the favour of his team, he gave one of the best if not the best performance by a visiting batsman in India, of late. In a series where even an in-form Virat Kohli failed to get going, Smith scored a staggering 499 runs to finish the series as its top-scorer. His stay in India became even more memorable when he led the Rising Pune Supergiant to their maiden IPL final where they lost against Mumbai Indians by just one run.

Image credits: BCCI

Not surprising then that the Aussie skipper calls India ‘his home away from home.’ Speaking to Hindustan Times, the 28-year-old expressed his love for the country.

“I love India, and I really enjoy being here for long periods while playing,” said Smith.“We come so often, it has almost become my home away from home. I even have favourite restaurants. The food’s a bit spicy for me, but I can certainly make out the difference between North Indian cuisine and a South Indian preparation. Outside, the temperature takes a toll on you, but the warmth of the people makes up for that.”

Smith further admitted that he was stumped by the beauty of Dharamsala before going on to call Pune his favourite city. He also rated his gutsy century in the first Border-Gavaskar Test this year in Pune as one of the best of his career. Smith’s century had inspired Australia to a sensational 333-run win over India.

“Dharamsala is beautiful, but I must be politically correct, and being a Rising Pune Supergiant, say Pune’s my favourite city in India!” he said and added: “Honestly, my second innings 100 in Pune recently is something I rate as one of my best ever…and us going on to win that Test match was fantastic!”

Smith scored three centuries in this year’s series (Image credits: AP)

Smith while admitting that he was clueless as what to accept in India when he visited the country for the first time said that he has been blown away by the Indian fans’ enthusiasm for the game.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect. But the passion people have for the game of cricket makes it so enjoyable for a professional cricketer to be here,” said the Australian captain.

“If asked to pick one thing I love about Indians, it’d have to be their enthusiasm for everything: cricket, movies and life in general. If I have friends visiting, I’d like to take them to a cricket match…you can’t see India through my eyes without experiencing the crowds and noise at a game,” he added.

Also read: (Steven Smith got engaged in NYC to long-time girlfriend Dani Willis)

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