Former Australian skipper Ian Chappell feels that ace fast bowler Pat Cummins should take over Test captaincy once Tim Paine retires and not Steve Smith.

The Australian legend’s comment came after current Test skipper Tim Paine backed Steve Smith to return to the leadership role in the future and said he will fully support the decision if the batsman returns as captain.

Talking to Wide World of Sports, former Australian skipper Ian Chappell said that bringing Steve Smith back to captaincy will take Australian cricket backwards. 

“I think it's time to move on. To me, if you go back to Smith, you're going backwards. It's time to look ahead, not in the rear-vision mirror,” Ian Chappell told Wide World of Sports.

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Chappell further said that Pat Cummins should still be the next pick for Australia captain, even if he knew about the ball-tampering scandal. He added that it all falls back on  Steve Smith, who as a skipper should have made sure that ball-tampering scandal never started. 

“If people start jumping up and down about Pat Cummins captaining Australia if he knew, well the answer is pretty clear because it falls back on Smith. He's (Steve Smith) the bloke who should have stopped it.

“The captain's got the overall say and power to stop it, and he didn't. I don't think it should count against Cummins, even if they decide the bowlers did know. Smith is the bloke who should have made sure the whole thing never started,” he said. 

The ball-tampering controversy has been taking over headlines for the past couple of days. Cameron Bancroft, who was caught using a piece of yellow sandpaper on the ball in the 2018 Newlands Test against South Africa, recently hinted that more players may have been in the loop about ball-tampering.

Both Pat Cummins and Steve Smith will next be seen in action when Australia tours West Indies for a white-ball series in July.

(Wide World of Sports inputs)