While superstitions are becoming a rarity in today's world, there's no ignoring the fact that some cricketers still follow them which they believe to be true. Indian captain Virat Kohli previously had to wear his lucky pair of gloves to score well in every match, while swashbuckling batsman Virender Sehwag decided to keep his jersey numberless while batting at the top order
Australian captain Steve Smith, who is currently in the form of his life, also firmly believes in a superstition before going on to bat that many cricket lovers weren't aware of the till date. In a video posted by Cricket Australia on its website, the No.1 ICC Test Batsman reveals he used to tape his shoelaces to his shin before going to bat because he didn't like the sight of them.
Smith first experimented with this trick during the last Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign in 2016 against Gujarat Lions when the Australian found the track pants of his Rising Pune Supergiant kit too tight to contain his laces. And indeed, the move favoured the 27-year-old as he went on to score a quick-fire 101 of 54 deliveries.
“Well, it started during the last season of the IPL due to the kind of pants we were given to wear. I have always had issues with looking at my shoe laces when I am batting. And it wasn’t working because the pant wasn’t long enough and the shoe laces would pop out and that was getting to my head. So I got the physio to tape my shoe laces to my socks. I wear footie socks when I bat. And I got a hundred the first time I got it and I have done it since,” says Smith.
Luckily for the Aussies, it still remains to be the lucky charm behind Smith's form as the skipper leads the scoring chart in the current Border-Gavaskar series, having racked up three centuries along with a jaw-dropping average of 80.33. And if Australia does manage to clinch the series decider in Dharmashala, Smith will hope the taboo bears him fruit with the Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 10 starting on 5th April.
