ICC World T20 2021: Injured Steven Smith could miss out to prioritise fitness for Ashes

Australian batsman Steven Smith is one of the four horsemen in world cricket currently, while the Australian team immensely relies on him across formats. However, there seems to be sad news for Smith and the Australians concerning the upcoming ICC World T20.

Smith will likely miss out on the global Twenty20 event as he continues to recover from his injured elbow. Despite the event being a top tournament, Smith would not rush his return while prioritising the Ashes later this year.

"There's still a bit of time between now and (the World Cup), and I'm tracking okay at the moment - it's slow, but I'm going okay. I'd love to be part of the World Cup, for sure. But, from my point of view, Test cricket, that's my main goal - to be right for the Ashes and try to emulate what I've done in the last few Ashes series I've been involved in," he told cricket.com.au.

"I want to put myself in a position where I can have that kind of impact. If that does mean not partaking in the World Cup, then we'll have to go down that path, but hopefully, we don't have to go there," he added.

ALSO READ: ICC World T20 2021 to take place in UAE and Oman, confirms ICC

Smith decided to withdraw from the ongoing tour of Windies, as his elbow is not fully recovered yet. Also, it puts his stint in the now-suspended Indian Premier League 2021 for Rajasthan Royals, where he believed that a change in his batting stance led to his elbow injury.

"I've made a bit of progress with it the last few weeks. I started some batting, just 10 minutes at a time, and basically, my path now to getting back to playing is building up from there. Because it's a tendon (injury), it's basically how you (feel when you) wake up the next day, so I start at 10 minutes, and if I wake up the next day and I'm good, then I can go up to 12 minutes, and if I wake up well again, I go up to 15," he concluded.

The WT20 will be held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman between October-November. The current pandemic situation in India has raised safety concerns regarding hosting the global competition in the country.

At the same time, tax exemption has also been an issue for the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the International Cricket Council. Nevertheless, BCCI has still retained the hosting rights for the event in UAE and Oman.

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