Captain Steve Smith suffers elbow injury ahead of Sri Lanka Test tour

Australia has suffered a major blow ahead of their upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka as their stand-in skipper Steve Smith has sustained an elbow injury. Smith was entrusted with the leadership duties for the upcoming tour with captain Pat Cummins opting out of the series as he’s expecting his second child with wife Becky.

Smith suffered the injury while throwing during the Big Bash League (BBL) 2024-25 rain-marred Match 37 between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). According to cricket.com.au, he is expected to visit a specialist in Sydney on January 21 and his participation in the Sri Lanka series depends heavily on the results of that



consultation.

Smith’s elbow issues troubled him during 2019 as well and the star batter had to undergo a surgery. However, the current problem is not the same as the one which troubled him in the past. Apart from Smith, the Australian team management is also fretting over the fitness of their left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, who earlier broke his right thumb during the BBL Match 36 between Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes.

Kuhnemann was struck on the thumb attempting to field a ball off his own bowling and underwent surgery on January 17. While the fracture is in the non-bowling of the left-arm spinner, the 28-year-old will have to prove his match fitness to selectors to participate in the series.