The Stunning Success of Steve Smith

When it comes to cricket comebacks, Steve Smith has shown the world what can be achieved through hard work and determination. The international cricketer and former captain of the Australian national team will be playing in his 8th IPL season, having been retained by the Rajasthan Royals in 2020. He is considered a livewire on the field and is known for his unorthodox style, which can often fool bowlers. After returning from a one-year ban on account of the ball-tampering episode, the batsman will be eager to score big this Indian Premier League.

Steve Smith Personal Life

Australian cricketer Steve Smith was born on 2 June 1989 in Sydney and began playing cricket from the age of 17. He decided not to pursue higher education and instead continued with his ambition to play for New South Wales. One of his first tournaments was when he played club cricket for Sevenoaks Vine in the Kent Cricket League’s premier division. Since his mother was born in London, Smith has both British and Australian citizenship.

Smith met Dani Willis, a law and commerce student at Macquarie University, during the Big Bash League’s first season. The couple got engaged in New York City when he popped the question on an observation deck overlooking the city. Steve Smith’s ball-tampering controversy caused a lot of mayhem in his career and according to him, his relationship with Dani Willis helped him pull through. When the couple eventually married in September 2018, the internet was abuzz with fans looking for news about Steve Smith's wife. Smith describes his wife as incredibly supportive and a rock that has been through the biggest storms of his life.

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Steve Smith’s Australia Career

It may surprise many fans that Steve Smith made his international cricket debut as a bowler. He played in a T20 International as a leg spinner against Pakistan cricket team in Melbourne in February 2010. Later that year, he made his ODI debut against the West Indies at the same stadium. Smith began to get a lot of attention during the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 when he took 11 wickets in seven matches at an average of 14.81.

His Test debut was at Lords in July 2010 and was selected mainly for his bowling, although he did play an impressive role with the bat later on in that tournament. After that, he was a regular player in the Australian team and eventually took over the captaincy from Michael Clarke after his retirement in 2015. Here’s a look at Steve Smith’s stats with respect to his batting over the years:

Steve Smith’s Batting Summary

Steve Smith’s Records and Achievements

According to the current ICC Player Rankings, Steve Smith is the top-ranked Test batsman in the world. On account of his distinctively high Test batting average, cricket experts are drawing comparisons with the greatest of them all, Sir Donald Bradman. Let’s take a look at some of Steve Smith’s stats and records throughout his career:

• He holds the record for the second-highest Test batting rating (947).
• He is the second youngest batsman to top the ICC Test batting rankings.
• He is the youngest player to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year award.
• 2nd batsman to score 1,000+ runs in Test cricket in four consecutive years.
• Fastest batsman to reach 7,000 runs in Tests. Smith reached the mark in his 126th Test innings.

Steve Smith’s Awards

While Steve Smith’s batting records may be impressive, another incredible record is the number of awards Smith managed to collect over the years.

Since Steve Smith’s age is only 31, he still has a long way to go, which means he can make history as one of the best Test batsmen in the history of the game.

Steve Smith’s IPL Journey

Steve Smith made his debut in the IPL in 2012, when he played for the Pune Warriors and scored 350 runs at a respectable strike rate. Once the franchise expired, Smith was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals in 2014. All through the initial seasons of the IPL, Steve Smith’s batting average was the talk of the tournament because he regularly chipped in with useful knocks whenever the team needed it.

Even though his maiden season for RR was not the greatest, his careerreached new heights when he scored his maiden IPL century in 2016 for the Rising Pune Supergiants. Sadly, due to injuries, the audiences did not get to see more of Steve Smith’s centuries and he was forced to cut his campaign short. But Smith perfected his batting and came back stronger in 2017, leading the team to the final which they lost to Mumbai Indians by just 1 run.

Following Steve Smith’s ball-tampering episode, the batsman was banned from the IPL and returned in the 2019 IPL. Smith was appointed as the Rajasthan Royal captain halfway through the tournament and finished the season with 319 runs at an average of 39.87, including three fifties.

After undergoing surgery for an elbow injury, Smith will be looking to lead from the front during IPL 2020 and take Rajasthan Royals to the top of the IPL league table. He has already built a reputation as a top-class Test batsman, it remains to be seen whether he can duplicate the achievement in the world of T20 as well.