Australia batsman Steve Smith opens up about his reaction when he injured his elbow during the 2024-25 Big Bash League match between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder . After the ordeal, Smith feared it could become serious, but luckily no major damage was done.

Smith is Australia’s stand-in captain for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. As one of the best batsmen in the line-up, he is crucial to the team’s chances in Sri Lanka’s spin-friendly conditions.

He fears he may have suffered a serious injury to his elbow after sustaining the injury while playing for the Sydney Sixers in the BBL. When he threw the ball during the game, he immediately felt pain.

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Steve Smith talks about elbow injury in BBL game

When talking about his fear of injury, Steve Smith spoke about an injury he suffered in 2019 that caused serious damage to his ligaments. However, he was relieved to know that it was just a muscle injury and no ligament damage.

“Immediately I was like ‘Oh my God, that hurts.’ It was similar to what I felt when I tore my ligament in 2019, so I was a little concerned,” Smith said.

“But scans showed that fortunately my ligaments were still intact and I was repaired. I had a little bit of muscle damage, just a tiny millimeter of ligament on the bone,” he added.

The reason for the injury could be a blow to his shoulder suffered by fast bowler Jhye Richardson during the initial stages of the BBL. The injury left his right shoulder bruised and forced him to change his throwing technique.

Smith further made it clear that despite the muscle injury, he is still able to bat and is fully fit to feature in the upcoming Test series. The 35-year-old is likely to bat at No. 4 in his preferred batting order.

“As far as hitting, I’m comfortable enough that I can get in there and hit with some tape,” Smith revealed.

Steve Smith leads in the absence of Pat Cummins

Steve Smith will lead Australia in the Test series against Sri Lanka in the absence of Pat Cummins. Cummins decided to skip the series because he is on paternity leave. While his departure will be a major blow to Australia, Smith is an experienced and capable captain.

He has an excellent record as a Test cricketer and is also an excellent spinner. He will begin the Test series against Sri Lanka with 9999 runs in 114 Tests at an average of 55.86, including 34 hundreds and 41 fifties.

Steve Smith wins Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25

Steve Smith was out of form ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but played a key role in Australia’s return to the title after a decade. The right-hand bowler has scored 314 runs in five Tests at an average of 34.88, including 2 hundreds.

Although Steve Smith has been cleared for the upcoming series in Sri Lanka, he may have to be careful with his throws. But he may be closer to the batsmen in Sri Lanka’s spin-friendly wickets, where bowling may not be an issue.