Steve Smith, Australia Test and ODI vice-captain, has refused to entertain talks about his retirement rumors, especially after opener David Warner announced that he’ll want to call time on his Test career next year and international career after the 2024 T20 World Cup.
In the upcoming years, Australia will experience a changing of the guard, with Warner being the first player to declare retirement.
Warner, who has been a part of the national Test team since Mitchell Johnson announced his retirement in 2015, became the first player to do so by stating he intends to wrap up in the middle of the upcoming Australian summer.
Smith is two years younger than Warner at 34, but both belong to a group of renowned athletes in their 30s who have served as the foundation of the Australian team for numerous seasons.
Smith hinted in January that his retirement might be approaching when he acknowledged in Sydney that he might have played his final Test on home soil before later retracting his remarks.
But when asked if he had any clarity about his future on Monday ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) showdown with India following Warner’s announcement, Smith said: “No”.
Asked if he wanted to elaborate further, Smith repeated: “No”.
It’s Nice To Have An End Date: Steve Smith Backed David Warner’s Decision To Make A Clear Call On When To Retire
Selectors are in a difficult situation as a result of Warner’s retirement plans since, despite a weak three-year batting stretch, there is no certainty that the opener will remain in the lineup for the entire Ashes series.
Smith supported Warner’s choice to be transparent about his retirement plans. Warner planned to play his final test at the SCG against Pakistan in January.
“It’s nice to have an end date, I suppose, if that’s the way you want to go. But ultimately for all of us we’ve going to be doing our job and for batters that is scoring runs. n an ideal world, I think Davey said that’s when he’d like to pick it up. But we’ve got to score runs, all of us. So we’ll see what happens,” Smith said.