Australian batter Steve Smith has not delivered up to the expectations as an opener, failing to demonstrate his effectiveness as an opener. Steve Smith replaced David Warner at the top of the order following Warner’s international retirement. There have been questions raised on Smith’s form as an opener because the shift in his batting position has produced inverse results. 

Smith’s elevation to the top allowed young Cameron Green to bat at no.4, which is Smith's preferred batting slot. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India approaching fast, the discussion surrounding Smith’s batting position has picked up the momentum. Meanwhile, Australian batter Usman Khawaja feels that Smith should return to his former batting position. 

"He'll just probably never say it. So I'll say it for him. Opening is a very important spot ... (but) I still think we have the best Test player of my era in the side, in Steve Smith, and his best spot has been number four. I feel like that's his best spot. I feel like the best balance for our team is (Marnus) Labuschagne three, Smith four," Khawaja said as quoted by Fox Cricket.

"For me, the number one consideration is 'what's best for the team?'. What order scores us the most runs? And if you look at how many runs we scored with Davey Warner in the team and Smudge batting at four, we scored a lot of runs. With Smudge opening, we've still won games, but I don't think we've scored as many runs as we could've," Khawaja stated.

Usman Khawaja backed Travis Head, who has been in destructive form, to open the batting for Australia in Tests. 

"At the end of the day, it's a decision for the selectors. But if you have me opening, Labuschagne three, Smith four, I feel like Travis Head might be best suited. He's obviously been very successful opening the batting in one-day cricket and, breaking it down, I'd probably lean towards him," Khawaja said.