Allegations against Smith ‘absolute load of rubbish’: Langer

Brisbane, Jan 13 : Australia coach Justin Langer has termed allegations against Steve Smith for wiping out Rishabh Pant’s guard marks as ‘absolute load of rubbish’.
Smith was caught on stump camera trying to remove Pant’s guard during the fifth day of the third Test as Australia tried hard to get rid of the left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman who went on the counter-attack.
The Pant-led Indian resistance forced the Aussies into some desperate acts including Smith removing guard and skipper Tim Paine indulging in on-field chatter with R Ashwin. However, Langer backed both Smith and Paine.
“I literally cannot believe some of the rubbish I read about Steve smith. Absolute load of rubbish. If anyone knows Steve Smith — he is a bit quirky, he does some weird stuff. We have all laughed about it for the last couple of years. I have spoken about it publicly and I have spoken about it privately that he is a bit quirky. What Smith does at the crease, he does at most games,” said Langer while speaking to the media during a virtual interaction on Wednesday morning.
“Anyone who suggests for one millisecond he was doing anything untoward, they are way out of line. Absolutely out of line. That wicket was so flat… it was like concrete. You need 15 inch spikes to make an indent on the crease,” he added.
Langer added that Smith has ensured that his bat does the talking ever since he has returned from the ball-tampering scandal.