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Steven Smith, who is set to return to captaincy in Australia's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, is viewing it as a prospect to disseminate his knowledge of the sub-continent to the youngsters in the team.
With designated skipper Pat Cummins on paternity leave, Smith was assigned the captaincy role for the two-match Test tour of the sub-continent. After confirming the berth for the World Test Championship final, Australia has stuck to its policy of preparing youngsters for the future. Nathan McSweeney, Cooper Connolly and Sam Konstas are the young talent, who have shown signs of promise in their recent outings for the Baggy Greens. Smith, who is one of the most experienced stars in the Australian squad, is happy to impart his knowledge to youngsters and mentor the next generation. "I'll try and pass on as much knowledge as I can. I've played a lot of cricket in the subcontinent, so I know those conditions really well. We've got a good little training camp in Dubai where we can control the wickets and what they do," Smith told Fox Sports. The Asian tracks are expected to stay true to their nature and offer spinners plenty to turn the opposition batters around. Smith expects his compatriots to come up with plans to counter the threat of Sri Lankan ball tweakers. "Hopefully, we'll get them spinning a lot, and guys will be able to develop different plans to come up with to counter their spinners. The back end of my career is about helping those young kids and trying to help them find a way to be successful in all conditions around the world," he added. The two Tests will be played in Galle, with the series opener beginning on January 29, and the second will kick off on February 6. Australia Squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster. (ANI)
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