"It's nice to have an end date" - Steve Smith unlikely to pursue David Warner's route to end career
Australian batter Steve Smith commented on David Warner's decision to announce his retirement well in advance but refused to shed light on his own future.
Smith recently turned 34, and despite his on-and-off involvement with Australia's white-ball teams, he is still the mainstay of the Test side.
The ace batter offered some thoughts on how he envisions the end of his career following the culmination of the home series against South Africa earlier in the year. When asked about his future career plans following the upcoming county stint in England, Smith refused to comment.
Warner, meanwhile, recently announced that he would like to conclude his Test career after the Sydney Test against Pakistan early next year.
Sharing his opinion on Warner's bold and early call, Smith told AAP:
"It's nice to have an end date, I suppose, if that's the way you want to go. But ultimately for all of us we've going to be doing our job and for batters that is scoring runs. In an ideal world, I think Davey said that's when he'd like to pick it up. But we've got to score runs, all of us. So we'll see what happens."
Warner also added that the 2024 T20 World Cup might also end up being his final endeavor in international cricket. The veteran opening batter will turn 37 in a few months' time and is likely to continue playing franchise cricket around the world.
"I am slightly concerned" - Steve Smith on the future of Test cricket
It goes without saying that the longer formats of the game are currently hanging by a thread against the uprising, rampant shorter formats as well as franchise-based cricket.
While the introduction of the World Test Championship (WTC) has increased the sense of purpose associated with red-ball cricket over the last four years, Steve Smith is still concerned about the long-term health of the format.
"I am slightly concerned," he said. "Hopefully, Test cricket still stays alive and well. I think it's in a good place at the moment in terms of some of the games we've seen recently have been pretty amazing. As a traditionalist and someone that loves Test cricket, I hope it still remains at the front of all the boards' minds and stays alive and well for some time to come."
Smith will next be in action in the WTC final against India at the Oval from June 7 onwards.
Will the former Australia captain play till the end of the next WTC cycle? Let us know what you think.