As Steve Smith is now eligible for a leadership role again, Australia’s current Test captain Tim Paine said he will fully support the former captain in returning to the capacity.
Smith’s two-year captaincy ban by Cricket Australia for his role in the ball-tampering incident in South Africa in 2018 ended on Sunday, 29 March, making him eligible for the leadership role once again.
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Well, Paine, who will turn 36 next year, admitted that he hasn't had any discussion about captaincy with anyone, but he would be happy to endorse the former captain, as leading teams is clearly something the star batsman "loves doing".
As per reports in India Today, Paine said: “I haven't had that conversation with Smithy, I probably will at some stage no doubt but I think that he's back captaining the [Indian Premier League's] Rajasthan Royals and captaining in [English competition] The Hundred, it's something that he loves doing. If Steve Smith decides that's the way he wants to go then I'd fully support him in trying to again.”
The skipper further added, “When I’m in the role (as captain), I plan to use him as much as I can. He was an excellent captain for me to play under. I hoped when this was all going on, he would get the opportunity to lead his country again. He’s got one of the great cricket brains so when we’re out there, I enjoy getting his feedback and I’m sure we’ll continue to do that for the next little bit.”
Meanwhile, the wicketkeeper-batsman also admitted that he might not have a long stay at the helm as Australia captain with "some real depth" emerging at the side.
He added, “We've got a number of guys to choose from. [There's] Smith who's done it before, or players who are developing underneath like a Travis Head, Alex Carey, Labuschagne, Cummins is another one. We're starting to build some real depth so that when my time's up we've got a number of options.”
He also revealed that Australia's next scheduled 2-Test series in Bangladesh is under the dark clouds because of the coronavirus pandemic all around the world.
Paine signed off by saying, “Obviously I've had a few conversations with people. You don't have to be Einstein to realize that it's probably unlikely, particularly in June. Whether it's canceled completely or it's pushed back we're not quite sure at the moment.”
(With India Today Inputs)
