Mumbai, February 15: Legendary Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist said stand-in captain Steve Smith should be slotted in as an opener in the ODI team for the upcoming Champions Trophy, citing it as a way of maximising the number of deliveries he can face in the side슬롯사이트s matches in Pakistan. In Australia슬롯사이트s heavy 2-0 ODI series loss in Sri Lanka, Smith made 12 and 29 as a middle-order batter. But with young Jake Fraser-McGurk in an inconsistent run of form, Gilchrist feels Smith has to open the batting, though he finds Matt Short as an interesting option to partner with Travis Head at the top. Kusal Mendis슬롯사이트s Century, Spinners Excellence Help Sri Lanka Stun World Champions Australia With 2슬롯사이트�0 ODI Series Loss.

슬롯사이트It슬롯사이트s a challenging one at the moment, but Steve Smith should open. I didn슬롯사이트t see where he was slotted in the game against Sri Lanka. Obviously, Travis is going to be there 슬롯사이트� he슬롯사이트s fresh and fit. I also like Matt Short being there 슬롯사이트� he can form a nice left hand-right hand combination 슬롯사이트� that would be the preferred way for me to go.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트But I do think Steve Smith can open 슬롯사이트� we have seen him do that in 20-over cricket really well. Maybe he슬롯사이트s too valuable in the middle-order, but I can슬롯사이트t see a reason why you wouldn슬롯사이트t want him facing as many balls as possible in a 50 over game. It could be a very viable option to get him up there,슬롯사이트� said Gilchrist on ABC Summer Grandstand show on Saturday.

Australia, the current ODI World Cup holders, go into the Champions Trophy without their first-choice pacers in Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, apart from Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh being unavailable due to injuries.

With Australia to face England, Afghanistan and South Africa in their Champions Trophy league stage games, Gilchrist feels the side could struggle in Pakistan due to their limited preparation for the Champions Trophy. Steve Smith Grabs a One-Handed Stunner in Slips To Dismiss Dunith Wellalage During SL vs AUS 1st ODI 2025 (Watch Video).

슬롯사이트I guess there슬롯사이트s been limited preparation with regards to this format. The Australian team were outstanding in the huge summer 슬롯사이트� both men슬롯사이트s and women슬롯사이트s. But a lot of nations will focus on 50-over cricket when it슬롯사이트s a World Cup year certainly in terms of volume of the games and who슬롯사이트s actually playing it.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트The next ODI World Cup is in 2027 I suppose, so this is an opportunity to experiment and give younger players a go. That might bring with it some mixed results 슬롯사이트� once you get into a tournament, it슬롯사이트s just tournament play and find a way to go through the next round.슬롯사이트�

슬롯사이트That슬롯사이트s what Australia do well 슬롯사이트� they scrape well, but it슬롯사이트s going to be challenging in those conditions over there. They don슬롯사이트t have the full strength of players who they would like to take typically, so this might be a tough tournament for them,슬롯사이트� he concluded.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 15, 2025 01:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).