When Steve Smith first made his name known in the world of cricket, he was a blonde Australian leg-spinner who was very handy with a bat in his hand. However, two years down the line, the 23-year-old has been picked in the Australian Test team as a No.5 batsman.

With four players sidelined due to disciplinary reasons, Smith has been inducted in Australia’s playing XI for the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. After the first day of the Mohali Test was rained out, Smith addressed the media and spoke about his transition as a cricketer.

“I’ve probably always been more of a batsman than a bowler but have been picked in different teams to play different roles,” Smith said. “I played my first two Tests as a bowler and it’s a bit different now to come in as a specialist No.5 batsman.”

Smith ensured that he is ready to take up the role of a specialist Test batsman while explaining his preparations over the last year and a half.

“I think I’ve improved a lot in the last 12 to 18 months; changed a couple of things in my technique, which has made me a bit more stable at the crease, more balanced and I guess more selective as well. So, I feel that I’ve tightened my technique up quite a bit and I believe I’ve been playing spin really well on this trip in the nets.

“I’ve been training very hard this tour. I’ve had the opportunity to work in the nets on my batting and I have done that,” Smith said.

While his role predominantly comprises contributing runs, Smith said that he is ready to roll his arm over and bowl a few leg-spinners if the captain calls him on to do so.

“I have been working on both batting and bowling. It’s always good to be good at both. In this game, the wicket looks pretty dry and so there will be a chance for me to bowl a few overs maybe in the second innings,” he said.

Smith makes it to the side with Australia 0-2 behind in the series and reeling under the one-match ban imposed by the team management on four of their players. But Smith insisted that he will put it all behind him once he takes the field.

“I play my best cricket when my mind is clear and I don’t have too many thoughts about premeditating or doing different things,” he said.