Steven Smith speaks: I like watching Virat Kohli bat

MUMBAI: For a man who started out as a leg-spinner in international cricket, but really found his mojo once he turned into a specialist batsman, Steven Smith has come a long way.
Full coverage: Indian Premier League 2015
On Tuesday, Smith took part in the Ariel 'Share the Load' event, along with Royals' mentor Rahul Dravid, and teammates Stuart Binny and Ajinkya Rahane, at the Brabourne Stadium - the latest 'home' for RR.Excerpts from an interview...
How happy are you with the way the Rajasthan Royals have performed?
It's been good. We started well, winning our first five games, and then had a bit of a rough patch. The washouts slowed down our momentum a bit, and we won the last game. The most important thing is that we should be playing good cricket at the back-end of the event.
How important has been Dravid for the team?
He's as experienced as you get. He's a great role model for everyone here. A lot of the overseas players have been able to or pick his brain and learn about different things like how to bat in Indian conditions.
Your teammate Ajinkya Rahane is currently the top run-getter in IPL 8...
He's a terrific player. As we saw in the summer back home in Australia, he played our bowlers in our conditions as well as anyone, and then throughout the World Cup as well, and again we're seeing in the PL, he's the Orange Cap holder at the moment. He's been good at the top-order with Shane (Watson).
The Aussies developed a 'special relationship' with Virat Kohli during the Test series last winter. Should he tone down his aggression?
Look, Virat is a terrific player. He's been one since coming onto the scene. He's someone that I really like watching. He had a lot of success as well throughout the summer back home.
Recently, you scored runs by the tons against India. Is there any one Indian bowler who troubles you?
I'm not sure if I can say that! India are still a good side with some quality bowlers.
A few years ago, Australian cricket's fortunes seemed to have nosedived. There has, however, been a remarkable turnaround culminating in the World Cup win. What would you attribute this to?
I'm not too sure to be honest...it's just about playing a brand of cricket that we're comfortable playing. I think that's the way we play at our best, the good, positive and aggressive brand that we've been playing for the last 18 months.
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