3 min readMar 19, 2026 03:02 PM IST
England wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith believes missing out on the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year might turn out to be “a blessing in disguise” as he prepares for an important red-ball season in his home country.
The 25-year-old, who went unsold at the auction for IPL 2026, said that he still aspires to play in the cash-rich league, but due to the unexpected time off from the game, he is now focused on preparing to play his best possible cricket in the longer formats ahead of England’s Test matches this summer, beginning in June against New Zealand.
“At the time, I would have definitely liked to have gone, it’s an ambition of mine to strengthen all sides of my game, and I see the IPL as something that can really enhance the white-ball side and does have benefits for the red-ball game,” the Surrey gloveman said on ESPNcricinfo. “But in hindsight, it’s fantastic to have a block of red-ball cricket. Towards the back end of the summer and into the winter, technically, I felt a little bit out of kilter,” he added.
Currently working on his game at The Oval, the Englishman emphasised the importance of uninterrupted preparation time. “It’s been nice to come here [The Oval] and work on a couple of things and then I’ll be able to hopefully implement them, for six or seven [County Championship] games, and we’ll see where we get to if there’s any England stuff after that. But, yeah, it’s nice to have a little block to try and get things right,” he said.
The young wicketkeeper also opened up about the recent pressures of playing in the international arena, including the challenging tour of Australia for The Ashes series, where he scored only 211 runs across five Test matches while the hosts sealed a 4-1 series win.
Looking back at the physical and mental toll of his first full-fledged Test stint, he said, “Mistakes are going to happen. The India series was physically and mentally very tough. It was my first five-Test series.” He further added, “We were out in the field for 22 out of 25 days or something ridiculous, and all the Tests lasted five days. By the end, it was just exhaustion — I was knackered physically and mentally.”
“From there, the learning was, how can you make sure that from the first to the last game, your standards are still as high as possible,” he said.
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Drawing parallels with the Australia tour, the right-hander maintained that fatigue didn’t significantly affect his performance levels. “It was similar in Australia. Even if some games didn’t last as long as expected, I don’t feel like my standards dropped too much,” he said.
