Injury to Australia’s full-time captain in limited-overs formats, Aaron Finch, has reignited the debate surrounding the captaincy of the national team. The comments made by the stand-in skipper Matthew Wade, who led the team against India in the second T20I, on former captain Steve Smith’s credentials to regain the captaincy, has fuelled the fire.
After the last match, Wade had said that Smith has “plenty of say” in the on-field tactics and drives players around on the field, and that he would do a 'great job' if reinstated again to the leadership position. Notably, Steve Smith was stripped of the captaincy after the sandpaper episode in the Newlands Test against South Africa in 2018.
“We have so many good leaders, I have been given the captaincy but we have got Smith, we have got Moises, who captains his BBL team. We have guys with a lot of experience. There is a lot of discussion among the seniors but we are all working together. It is not me driving the field, obviously, Finchy is our captain and we all work together when he plays well. So Smith has plenty of say, he has been a great captain for a long time and he will do a great job if he gets an opportunity,” Wade said regarding the leadership quality within the Australian team.
However, coach Justin Langer is still not buying into the arguments of handing the captaincy to Smith and said that the former captain will have to go through some processes which will be carried out before he could lead the team again on the international stage. Langer also lauded Smith for leading the side and showing leadership abilities while not having any title at the moment.
“Matty Wade was the vice-captain, Steve Smith has done a brilliant job in the past, there is a process probably to go through till he becomes captain again. We’ll go through that. He is doing all the right things to show leadership without a title at the moment,” Langer told Fox Sports.
Steve Smith’s presence in the team and his outstanding batting has rubbed onto his teammates in the past and the Ashes series held in England last year was proof of that. In that contest, the prolific right-hander almost single-handedly helped Australia retain the marquee title. But, as Langer suggested, there is a lot to happen before Smith can be restored to the captaincy of the national team, as both Australia and the board managing the game in the county - Cricket Australia - were left badly embarrassed to explain the details of the sandpaper scandal in Newlands two years back.
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