ICC trolls Shoaib Akhtar after he says he can dismiss Steve Smith on the fourth ball

Over the years, Steve Smith has evolved himself as one of the modern-day greats. An unorthodox batting technique coupled with a gritty temperament– Smith has been considered as a highly-talented batsman of the modern era. After serving his suspension, the right-hander retaliated back on the international stage and proved his mettle in ‘The Ashes’, which was his first Test series after returning back to the sport.

Smith smashed 774 runs in the four matches he was a part of, which included three centuries. He was unperturbed by the English bowling force as runs kept tumbling from Smith’s willow time and again. However, one exciting battle in the series was between Smith and Archer where the Barbados-born England pacer kept hurling bouncers at the Aussie stalwart.

Taking the Smith-Archer battle into the scene, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar also took a dig at Smith. Akhtar opined that he can dismiss Smith on the fourth ball after hurling three bouncers at him.

Responding to a tweet by ESPNcricinfo that compared the cricketers of the past and current era, Akhtar wrote, “Even today, 3 hurting bouncers and I can dismiss @stevesmith49 on the 4th ball. Lol.”

Even today, 3 hurting bouncers and i can dismiss @stevesmith49 on the 4th ball. Lol https://t.co/6vvmrfFHNK

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) May 11, 2020

Akhtar was trolled by many fans on Twitter for his comment. Many fans voiced their opinion that Akhtar was just exaggerating his bowling skills and Smith would’ve surely stood high against the ‘Rawalpindi Express’. Along with the fans, ICC also joined the bandwagon and trolled Akhtar for his comments on Smith.

pic.twitter.com/IHqHevy35e

— ICC (@ICC) May 12, 2020

Shoaib Akhtar had slammed Smith’s batting technique in the past too

Earlier, in November 2019, Akhtar had expressed his opinion over Smith’s unorthodox batting technique. The pacer had termed the batting technique as ‘poor’.

“I am surprised how he does it. Steve Smith, you must have seen, he has no technique, style but yet very effective,” Akhtar had said in the video. He had also added that he would’ve definitely tried to hurt Smith if the right-hander played during his era.

Steve Smith was last seen in action on the field in the ODI series against New Zealand. However, after the first match, the series was postponed in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The Australia star was also set to represent Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020. However, due to the indefinite postponement of the tournament, Smith is currently enjoying his quarantine period at home.