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Graeme Smith ruled out a return to international cricket despite admitting last December that he would consider it based on his performance in the inaugural Masters Champions League.
"No, I'm not," Smith told Cricbuzz during the MCL when asked if he was serious about making a comeback to international cricket. "I think there was a lot of chat because I came to play here (at the MCL), and I also just turned 35 so people still think that I can do it, but as I've always said, it'll have to go extremely well for me. I'd have to love playing again, body would have to feel good, everything will have to go amazingly well for me to say, 'okay, I'm going to dive back in and put all the effort to getting to where I need to be."
Smith reiterated the same on Thursday (February 18) while speaking to SACricketmag.com at a sponsor function.
The former South Africa captain retired in March 2014 at the age of 33 and felt that he could contribute to the side following their humiliating 3-0 loss in the Test series in India. Linda Zondi, South Africa's convener of selectors, however made it clear that Smith will have to score runs at the domestic level to be considered again.
But the 35-year-old took up commentating duties during the recently concluded Test series between South Africa and England. After the hosts lost the Boxing Day Test, he was named the batting consultant for the rest of the series but his media commitments restricted his involvement to just one net session.
Smith also made it clear that he is not in the running to become South Africa's long-term batting coach after Russell Domingo, their head coach, revealed, after the series loss to England, that they were looking for one. "I obviously have challenges on the personal front. I've got two young kids and for me it's two-fold. "Firstly, time away from home. At the moment, a batting consultant is something that I can't really commit to," Smith said.
"If I'm going to coach then I'm really going to commit fully and try and go for something more substantial, maybe a head coach role."
Subsequently, Neil McKenzie was handed the responsibility of South Africa's batting coach.
Smith wants to start off by coaching in one of the Twenty20 leagues before considering his next big move. "It's something that I'm certainly starting to consider more. I had a good two years away from the game and the pressure of captaining South Africa for 11 years. I needed that break," he said.
"Leadership and running an environment and being at the forefront of decision making is something that has been an integral part of my career, you know. So it's certainly something that I will look at doing, whether it starts at the IPL or starts in a T20 league and builds into something else, we'll just have to see what happens."
Graeme Smith rules out international comeback - Cricbuzz
"No, I'm not," Smith told Cricbuzz during the MCL when asked if he was serious about making a comeback to international cricket. "I think there was a lot of chat because I came to play here (at the MCL), and I also just turned 35 so people still think that I can do it, but as I've always said, it'll have to go extremely well for me. I'd have to love playing again, body would have to feel good, everything will have to go amazingly well for me to say, 'okay, I'm going to dive back in and put all the effort to getting to where I need to be."
Smith reiterated the same on Thursday (February 18) while speaking to SACricketmag.com at a sponsor function.
The former South Africa captain retired in March 2014 at the age of 33 and felt that he could contribute to the side following their humiliating 3-0 loss in the Test series in India. Linda Zondi, South Africa's convener of selectors, however made it clear that Smith will have to score runs at the domestic level to be considered again.
But the 35-year-old took up commentating duties during the recently concluded Test series between South Africa and England. After the hosts lost the Boxing Day Test, he was named the batting consultant for the rest of the series but his media commitments restricted his involvement to just one net session.
Smith also made it clear that he is not in the running to become South Africa's long-term batting coach after Russell Domingo, their head coach, revealed, after the series loss to England, that they were looking for one. "I obviously have challenges on the personal front. I've got two young kids and for me it's two-fold. "Firstly, time away from home. At the moment, a batting consultant is something that I can't really commit to," Smith said.
"If I'm going to coach then I'm really going to commit fully and try and go for something more substantial, maybe a head coach role."
Subsequently, Neil McKenzie was handed the responsibility of South Africa's batting coach.
Smith wants to start off by coaching in one of the Twenty20 leagues before considering his next big move. "It's something that I'm certainly starting to consider more. I had a good two years away from the game and the pressure of captaining South Africa for 11 years. I needed that break," he said.
"Leadership and running an environment and being at the forefront of decision making is something that has been an integral part of my career, you know. So it's certainly something that I will look at doing, whether it starts at the IPL or starts in a T20 league and builds into something else, we'll just have to see what happens."
Graeme Smith rules out international comeback - Cricbuzz
