Star Australia batter Steve Smith was hit on his right hand during the net session on Tuesday, December 3. He looked in discomfort and was checked by the team’s physio. The video of his injury was uploaded by sports journalist Vimal Kumar.

The right-handed batter had an ordinary first Test against the India National Cricket Team, scoring 0 and 17 across both innings at the Optus Stadium. However, he is still one of the best batters in the world, and his track record against the sub-continent team is impressive.

Smith, who was promoted to open the innings after David Warner retired from the longest format, returned to his favorite no.4 slot for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Meanwhile, the extent of Smith’s injury is still unknown.

Australia would need Smith in the remaining four Tests to stand a chance of winning the BGT for the first time in more than a decade. After a 295-run defeat in the series opener in Perth, the hosts are under pressure, with Mitchell Johnson the performance of Marnus Labuschagne and Smith.

He urged the selectors to drop Marnus from the team while raising concern about Smith’s form. Ricky Ponting wants the two struggling top-order batters to learn from Virat Kohli, who amassed a hundred in the second innings of the first game. Kohli was battling for form before landing in Australia. The 36-year-old had accumulated 93 runs in six innings against New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Smith is averaging less than 25 in Tests this year. In 110 Tests, Smith has managed 9702 runs at an average of 56.40, including 32 hundreds and 41 fifties.