The final Ashes 2025 match will commence on January 4 in Sydney.
Following the retirement declaration of veteran batter Usman Khawaja, Australia skipper Steve Smith has also opened up on his plans for the future before the 5th Ashes 2025 Test.
When asked the same question at the pre-match press conference, the 36-year-old declined all the speculations about him following the same path as Khawaja after the conclusion of the five-Test series. He explained that two experienced pillars of the squad bidding adieu to international cricket at the same time would affect the Baggy Greens.
“With Usman dropping off now, he’s one of our experienced players, so it probably wouldn’t be ideal if he and I went out this week. I want to keep playing so don’t read into that too much. I’m still playing, I’m enjoying it, so we’ll wait and see,” he stated.
The right-hander spoke about how Australia’s Test squad has gone from strength to strength in the past few years, with back-to-back appearances in the World Test Championship (WTC) finals. However, while reflecting on an impactful 16-year-long career, the player also revealed his new role in the team.
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With the team passing through a transitional phase, Smith shared that he is focused on guiding the youngsters and shaping up another strong core before calling it a day in red-ball cricket. Earlier, the side had faced significant hardships to find David Warner’s replacement at the top, following his retirement in January 2024.
Sam Konstas had showcased immense promise on his debut but could not deliver consistently in the subsequent fixtures. Though the 20-year-old’s repeated failures opened the door for Tasmania opener Jake Weatherald, he is yet to put up a noteworthy knock apart from a 72 in the second Ashes 2025 Test.
“I’m just enjoying my cricket, it’s fun, I feel we’ve got a really good team. It’s been good to be a part of and as an older player now, hopefully I can help some of the players coming through and help teach them the game of Test cricket. That’s my role now,” added Smith.
Notably, while taking up the skipper’s duty once again in the absence of Pat Cummins, he has guided Australia to another Ashes victory on home soil. Smith scored 249 runs, including three half-centuries, and stayed unbeaten in the second innings of all his Ashes 2025 appearances so far.
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