Steve Smith says sledging was only done to get under the skin of the Indian team

What’s the story?

Australian captain Steve Smith has finally thrown some light on his team's tumultuous tour to India earlier this year when tempers flared for both sides.

Smith himself enjoyed a stellar run during the tour and was one of the thorns in the Indian flesh both for his run making spree and his mannerisms at the crease.

However, now that the dust has finally settled down, the skipper has revealed that it was all part of a well-thought out tactic to rile up the opposition.

"I like to try and annoy them a little bit with some of my mannerisms rather than anything I say," Smith said on the Back Page Live panel show.

The details

The Australian captain also said that the series was played under extreme pressure and this reflected in the way the teams reacted on the field, and owing to the competitive nature of the teams, things got a touch ugly too at times.

His face-mocking spat with fast bowler Ishant Sharma presented meme-makers with a feast and Smith himself conceded that it was all because he managed to get under the skin of the Indian team.

However, the captain said that his team fared better than many had predicted and he believes that the results do not reflect how his team performed on the trip.

In case you didn’t know...

Australia lost the 4-match Test series against India 2-1 after having shocked the hosts in the first Test match at Pune.

However, India hit back in Bangalore and after a drawn affair in Ranchi, Kohli and team took the series in Dharamsala.

What's next?

Australian cricket is currently in the midst of a crisis surrounding the pay dispute and there is a stalemate prevailing in the country.

If the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is signed, Australia would travel to Bangladesh for a 2-match Test series.

They are then expected to cross the Bay of Bengal to take on India in a 5-match ODI and a 3-match T20I series.

Author's take

Sledging has always played a major role in India-Australia series in the past and the aforementioned series was no different.

It is interesting to understand the thinking behind this 'art' and Smith's candid acknowledgement of the fact only adds another layer to the concept of mind games.