Steve Smith is eligible to lead Australia again after serving out his 2-year old ban from captaincy while David Warner will never be considered for the post even though both players were involved in the sandpaper gate scandal in South Africa. Tim Paine took over as Australia captain from Steve Smith in 2018 after Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for ball tempering offence for a year from international cricket.
Cricket legend Ian Chappell feels Steve Smith might replace Tim Paine as the skipper if there is no other option for Australia in the aftermath of their humiliating defeat against India in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar 4 Test series earlier this week by a margin of 2-1.
Steve Smith Might Get Captaincy Again When There’s Not Much Other Choice: Ian Chappell
Australia were stunned by India after they chased down the stiff target of 328 on Day 5 in 4th Brisbane Test which resulted in second successive series victory Down Under by 2-1 on January 19 at the Gabba, a venue where the hosts lost their first red-ball game in 32 years.
Australian Test captain Tim Paine has been under severe criticism for the way he led the team in the four-match series but he expressed his desire to lead the side again on their upcoming tour of South Africa in March.
Ian Chappell however, believes that if Tim Paine is asked to step down from his captaincy post after the failure, then Steve Smith can take over the role due to Australia’s lack of choice.
Tim Paine has led Australia in 23 Tests since succeeding Steve Smith in 2018, winning 11 and losing 8 games till date with 4 draws. Steve Smith had won 18, lost 10 and drawn 6 Tests when he led Australia from 2014 to 2018.
“Yeah sure, he might get the captaincy again but I think it’s only going to be in the circumstances where there’s not much other choice,” Chappell told ‘Wide World of Sports’.
But Ian Chappell, who led Australia in 30 Tests between 1971 and 1975, also questioned Cricket Australia’s ban on Steve Smith which differs from that of David Warner.
Steve Smith’s Crime Was Greater Than David Warner So They Should Be In the Same Category: Ian Chappell
Steve Smith is eligible to lead the side as his two-year ban from captaincy has ended while David Warner will never be considered for the post even though both players were involved in the sandpaper gate scandal in South Africa.
Both players were banned for a year from international cricket by CA while Cameron Bancroft was banished for 9 months after they were found guilty of tampering the ball with sandpaper during the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa.
“Why aren’t Smith and Warner in the same category? If Smith only gets a 12 (24) month ban on captaincy, why doesn’t Warner only get that?. Or if Warner gets a lifetime ban on captaincy, why doesn’t Smith? Because Smith’s crime in my eyes was greater than Warner’s,” Chappell added.
The Aussie skipper Tim Paine dropped as many as three catches on the 5th day’s play in 3rd Test at Sydney as he failed to lead his side to victory and the Test was drawn. The duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Tim Paine got into a bitter verbal spat on Day 5 of the Test match. The 36-year-old skipper was also fined 15% of his match fee after being found guilty of dissent for appealing to umpire Paul Wilson after a review didn’t go the hosts’ way on Day 3.