"I could still be playing T20 cricket in four years": Smith eyes LA Olympics berth

Veteran batter Steve hopes to represent Australia at quadrennial showpiece in USA; signs fresh three-year contract with BBL T20 franchise Sydney Sixers

Australia star batter Steve Smith is eyeing to represent the country at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics which is likely to be played in the T20 format. 

Smith was left out of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad in June this year but the experienced batter remains committed to his T20I future. He has signed a new three-year deal with the Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Sixers that will see him playing the tournament until at least 2026-27. However, Smith has to regain his spot in the national side to fulfil his dream of playing in the Olympics.

“I could still be playing T20 cricket in four years, so you never know. It’s a format I can see myself playing probably for a lot longer than some of the others, especially with the franchise stuff around the world. I’ve signed on here for three years so it’s only another year after that. It would be cool to be part of an Olympics,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Smith as saying.

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“I don’t have any plans. I’m just enjoying playing at the moment, I’m pretty relaxed and looking forward to this summer,” he added.

Smith will return to action in the ODIs against England after being left out of the T20I matches for the United Kingdom tour. However, his real test will be against India in the five-match Test series as his red-ball opening spot is still uncertain.

“You can’t really hide in a five-Test series like you probably can in a two-match series for instance. If someone gets the wood on you, it can be hard coming back from that. It’s going to be a wonderful series,” Smith said.

“We are probably the two best teams at the moment in Test cricket. We played the World Test Championship final last year and beat them there. They’ve been great out here the last couple of times, they’ve played really good cricket, hopefully we can turn the tables. It’s been 10 years since we last won the Border-Gavaskar trophy so need to do that this year,” he added.

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