“Captaincy will get the best out of Steve Smith” - Ravi Shastri ahead of Ashes 2025-26

Former Indian head coach and commentator Ravi Shastri has reckoned that captaincy will bring the best out of him as a batter in the upcoming Ashes series, scheduled to be played Down Under later in November 2025.

Notably, Smith has been elevated as the stand-in captain for the Perth Test after full-time skipper Pat Cummins was ruled out of the first Test due to an injury. Interestingly, Smith has an exceptional batting record as a captain in the longest format of the game. 

As a captain, Smith has accumulated 4139 runs from 69 Test innings at an average of 68.98 with 17 centuries and 14 half-centuries. For the uninitiated, he led the Australian team from 2015 to 2018. Later, he stood as a stand-in captain in 11 Tests between 2021 to 2025.

"What's always amazed me about Steve is his ability to adapt to different conditions and improvise, even in the middle of a series, sometimes in the middle of an innings. (Captaincy) will get the best out of him, that's for sure. He'll be tuned on, absolutely," Shastri told Fox Cricket Australia.

On Wednesday, October 29, Smith made his return to competitive cricket, scoring an impressive 118-run knock for New South Wales against Queensland at the Gabba in the Sheffield Shield campaign. 

"The conditions are going to be different here in Australia, aren't they?' I think the last three or four years have probably been as challenging for batters as we have seen for a long time, particularly the top order," Smith told reporters at the Gabba.

"So in those conditions, the bowlers are very experienced and very good, and it's going to make it hard work for the batters. It is going to be tricky for all batters, but when you are trying to get after it, it's going to be exceptionally hard," Smith concluded.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at BetBarter and download the BetBarter app to start betting today!