IND v AUS 2020: Steve Smith should definitely captain Australia in Tests and ODIs, reckons Michael Vaughan
Steve Smith arguably is Australia's current best batsman across both white-ball and red-ball cricket. He had a great start to his career as a captain and was destined to take Australia to greater heights. However, he lost his captaincy for his involvment in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018.
Skipper Smith, along with vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft, were handed lengthy bans by Cricket Australia. Although Smith and Warner made a successful comeback to the Australian side after the 12-month ban, the former is still not being considered for the role of Australia's captain.
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan believes Steve Smith deserves to lead the Aussies in ODIs and Tests. He opined that the Australians need to move on from the ball-tampering incident and give Smith another chance to prove why he is such a great captain.
“I think they are overthinking it - they are looking at what happened a few years ago - and thinking if everyone has moved on. Of course, everyone has moved on from the ball-tampering incident - we have all forgotten it. The game moves on really fast. If there is an opportunity arises in ODIs or Tests, then Steve Smith definitely be Australia captain,” Michael Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
Steve Smith is not an individual whose captaincy affects his batting: Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan feels Steve Smith's batting would only improve with the extra responsibility of captaincy. He believes the Australians are clearly missing a trick by not handing the reins to Steve Smith again. This is because he thinks Smith is an excellent tactician and has a great cricketing mind.
"Keeping him (Steve Smith) out due to the Cape Town situation which happened many, many years ago - I don’t understand that. You only need to see what he did with the bat when he was the captain and he was firing on all cylinders," Michael Vaughan asserted.
“He is not an individual whose captaincy affects his batting. It is just about figuring out who is the better leader in the group, who is the better tactician, who could help Australia with a tactical change in the middle. I think Steve Smith probably would," he further added.
Thus, with Steve Smith's ban on captaincy having expired earlier this year, Michael Vaughan reckons the 31-year-old should be back leading the Australian team.