CHENNAI: When Steve Smith announced his retirement from One Day Internationals after the Champions Trophy earlier this year, one of the key reasons behind it was his aspirations to represent Australia at the LA 2028 Olympics. Not a regular in the Australian T20I squad in recent years, Smith realised if he wanted to prolong his T20I career and play at the highest level for the next three years, he would have to let go of one format.
Once that was done, his next step was to play in T20 franchise leagues and make a mark consistently as a batter in the format. That road begins for the former Australia captain at The Hundred where he will play for the Welsh Fire. "The phase is only just starting for me. This is my first franchise commitment since I retired from ODI cricket," Smith said in an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network. "It's a big part of why I did it. I want to be able to play a few more leagues around the world and get a bit more consistent in the shorter format. My next goal is to be a part of the Olympics team in LA. So, for me, it was about letting go of one-day cricket and enabling me to play in a few more short format events and try and get better at it," he added.
Being a part of the LA 2028 is something Smith had thought about from the time it was announced that cricket was going to be a part of it. "It's kind of been at the front of my mind and a goal of mine to try and get into that team. I think being able to play some more short format cricket, it sort of helps me keep putting my name up there, I suppose. I think being in the Australian team and I haven't been in the T20 team for a little while now, but one-day cricket and Test cricket takes up a lot of time and probably doesn't allow as much short form cricket. So, since retiring from one day cricket, that was a huge reason why I did it so I could play some more short format cricket and hopefully, you know, just get better at it and keep putting my name up there," he explained.
Smith was first drafted by Welsh Fire in 2019 but it did not happen at the time. This year, he will play in the tournament for the first time and he is looking forward to the slight rule changes from T20s and the challenges that come with it. "Mental side, I'm not sure yet because I need to be spoken through the rules. But for me, you know, not a lot really changes. I'll go out in my net sessions and try to be pretty aggressive. You know, it's obviously 100 balls. So, you've got to be positive and aggressive throughout as a batter. It's a really good tournament from everyone that I've spoken to. I'm obviously new to it. So there's a few different intricacies in the game that you've got to adjust to. But, outside of that, it's just a shortened format. I'm not thinking too much ahead of myself. Just going to go out and play the game and enjoy it. And, yeah, hopefully be able to score some runs and help the team have some real success," he said.
Watch the The Hundred 2025 (Men's) — Northern Superchargers vs Welsh Fire on August 7 from 11 PM IST. Live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD.