Smith says missing IPL a blessing in disguise ahead of Tests

England wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith has said that missing out on the IPL 2026 could help him focus on red-ball cricket, as he prepares for the upcoming Test season at home.Smith, who went unsold in the IPL auction, said he initially wanted to be part of the league but now sees the break as useful ahead of England’s Test summer, which begins against New Zealand in June."At the time, I would have definitely liked to have gone (to the IPL). 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)," Smith said, as cited by"But in hindsight, yeah, it's fantastic to come here and have a block of red-ball (cricket) behind me. I felt that towards the back end of the summer and into the winter, technically, I felt a little bit out of kilter.

"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," Smith was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo on Wednesday.Smith had a difficult Ashes series in Australia, scoring 211 runs with one half-century in five Tests as Australia won 4-1.

He was later left out of England’s white-ball squads for the tour of Sri Lanka and the Men’s T20 World Cup.Reflecting on the tour, Smith spoke about the physical and mental demands of long Test series."Mistakes are going to happen. The India series was physically and mentally very tough. It was my first five-Test series.“Also, we were out in the field for 22 out of 25 days or something stupid, and all the Tests lasted (five days). By the end, it was just actual exhaustion: I was just knackered physically and mentally from all that had gone. From there, the learning was how to make sure that from the first to the last game, your standards are still as high as possible," Smith said.“It was similar in Australia, to be honest. I know a few of the games didn't last as long as people were expecting or wanting, but again, I don't feel like my standards were down too much," he added.