Smith plots international return and 2028 Olympics push
The Australia batter is looking forward to returning to international cricket against England next month and is keen to play a part in their push for an Olympics medal in 2028.
Veteran batter Steve Smith has not given up hope of winning a recall to Australia's T20I side and being a part of cricket's return to the Olympics at Los Angeles in 2028.
Smith suffered a setback to his long-term plans when he was overlooked for Australia's squad at the recent ICC Men's T20 World Cup, but the 35-year-old has since made a strong impact in the shortest format with some excellent performances in franchise cricket in the recently completed Major Legue Cricket tournament in the USA.
A host of stars reveal their excitement at cricket formally being added to the Olympic Games programme at LA28 and the prospect of competing for a gold medal
The right-hander will continue to play in Australia's domestic T20 competition - the Big Bash - and has earmarked a return to the Indian Premier League in the future to continue his affiliation with franchise cricket around the world.
And Smith thinks he might still be around in four years time when cricket makes its first appearance at the summer Olympics since 1900 when a T20 competition will be held at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
"I could still be playing T20 cricket in four years, so you never know," Smith said.
"It's a format I can see myself playing probably for a lot longer than some of the others, especially with the franchise stuff around the world. I've signed on here (Australia Big Bash side Sydney Sixers) for three years so it's only another year after that. It would be cool to be part of an Olympics."
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting shared his excitement on the ICC Review about cricket’s reintroduction on a global stage in the 2028 Olympic Games.
Smith will return to Australia duties at next month's white-ball tour of the United Kingdom, with the experienced batter overlooked for the T20I portion of the series and only named in the squad for the five-match ODI series against England.
While the white-ball matches against the old enemy will be crucial to Smith's endeavour to return to playing all three formats, it's the five-match Test series against India on home soil over the new year that remains the biggest priority for the Australian batter and his international teammates.
Australia star Steve Smith is out to add a second ICC Men's Cricket World Cup trophy to his record
Australia haven't won a Test series against India on home soil since the start of 2015 and the battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy this time around will be crucial for their hopes of qualifying for next year's ICC World Test Championship final at Lord's.
World Test Championship Standings
The series against India will be played across five Test matches for the first time in more than 30 years and Smith can't wait for Rohit Sharma's side to visit Australian shores.
"You can't really hide in a five-Test series like you probably can in a two-match series for instance," Smith said. "If someone gets the wood on you, it can be hard coming back from that. It's going to be a wonderful series.
"We are probably the two best teams at the moment in Test cricket. We played the World Test Championship final last year and beat them there. They've been great out here the last couple of times, they've played really good cricket, hopefully we can turn the tables. It's been 10 years since we last won the Border-Gavaskar trophy so need to do that this year."