India defeated West Indies by 96 runs in the third ODI to complete a 3-0 clean sweep vs West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. However, Odean Smith, who replaced skipper Kiran Pollard in the 2nd match, excelled with both the ball and the bat.
He first took the wickets of Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli and then he get 20 off 24 balls during the West Indian run chase in Second ODI and Smith gave India a huge scare as he hit a quickfire 36 in the West Indies’s unsuccessful chase of 266 against India in the 3rd ODI. The big-hitter effortlessly smashed Kuldeep Yadav to two big sixes before getting out in the 24 over of the match while trying to clear the fence against Mohammed Siraj.
While reviewing the second ODI in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra predicted a hefty sum for Smith at the upcoming mega auction. He said:
“Odean Smith – I feel he has become a half a million dollar player. He has already become a 4-5 crore player because all teams will run after him.”
The former KKR player highlighted that the big-hitting all-rounder will attract a lot of attention from the franchises. Aakash Chopra reasoned:
“Overall, the skillset with which he is coming, in the IPL mega auction, he will get a lot of horns blown. He bowls, Rishabh Pant and Kohli dismissed in one over and he would have got Rahul as well, and then came to play the big shots.”
Smith has shown ample proof of his potential in the four ODIs he has played for the West Indies to date. The Jamaican cricketer has taken five wickets at an excellent average of 17.20 and smoked 108 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 189.47 in these games.