Steve Smith, on Thursday, admitted that he was pumped to play his first Test in almost a year, revealing how hard it was to miss India's last series in Australia when he was banned for ball-tampering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The two sides meet in a day-night Test in Adelaide from December 17, the first of four clashes over a blockbuster summer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It will be Smith's first red-ball international since the final Test against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January before coronavirus caused havoc.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Very excited, I love Test cricket, it's my favorite form of the game no doubt. It challenges you in so many different ways," Smith, bubbling with enthusiasm, said on a Zoom call from Adelaide.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"So excited to get back out and play some long-form cricket. It's been close to a year since our last game. Can't wait -- all the boys are really keen to get out there and play as well."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Making it extra special for Smith is that he missed India's historic first Test series win in Australia in 2018-19 when he was serving his 12-month suspension.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith skippered the team until he was banned for a year in 2018 over a brazen attempt under his watch to alter the ball with sandpaper in Cape Town.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I watched bits and pieces," he said of the tour. "It was difficult sitting on the sidelines and not being able to go out there and make a difference. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"That was the toughest thing for me, knowing that I probably could make a difference if I was out there. So that was hard. But it's an exciting series coming up."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Both teams face selection problems. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
India's opening batsman Rohit Sharma and pace bowler Ishant Sharma are both injured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia will be missing opener David Warner for the opening Test after he injured a groin in the recent white-ball series but young prospect Will Pucovski, who was heavily tipped to replace him, suffered a concussion against India A this week.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Various scenarios have been touted should Pucovski fail to recover, from elevating Marnus Labuschagne or Matthew Wade to open, to recalling Marcus Harris or even Usman Khawaja.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith said it wouldn't trouble him if Labuschange opened and he was moved up to bat at three from four.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"That doesn't bother me too much, I've batted a fair bit at number three. Three or four, any lower than four and I wouldn't be overly happy, but anywhere out there I'm fine," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith, who has played 73 Tests, scoring more than 13,000 runs, including 26 centuries, admitted Warner's absence would be felt.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I think our depth is obviously going to be tested with Davey out and a few potentially new players coming in, so it's test for us against a good Indian outfit," he said. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Whoever is out there and in the team, hopefully we all do our job and have a successful summer."<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2020\/12\/aus-vs-ind-smith-pumped-for-test-clashes-after-missing-last-india-series.jpg", "alt_img": "image for cricket steve smith against india ", "alt_title": "Steve Smith", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "Aus vs Ind: Smith Pumped For Test Clashes After Missing Last India Series On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Steve Smith, on Thursday, admitted that he was pumped to play his first Test in almost a year, revealing how hard it was to miss India's last series in Australia when he was banned for ball-tampering.\r\n\r\n\r\n", "seo_keywords": "Adelaide Cricket Ground, India tour of Australia 2020-21, Steve Smith", "tag": "", "tagging": "Adelaide Cricket Ground,India tour of Australia 2020-21,Steve Smith,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "aus-vs-ind-smith-pumped-for-test-clashes-after-missing-last-india-series", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "2151", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2020-12-10 10:25:00", "updated": "2020-12-10 10:26:15", "img_from": "Steve Smith", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "Steve Smith, India, Australia, Aus vs Ind, Test Series, First Test, Adelaide", "livescore_text": "", "livescore_link": "", "btn_text": "", "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2020-12-10 10:25:00", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2020-12-10 10:25:00", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/aus-vs-ind-smith-pumped-for-test-clashes-after-missing-last-india-series-68318" }