"Won't be wrong to bring him back as a permanent captain"- Danish Kaneria on Steve Smith after IND vs AUS 3rd Test
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was highly impressed with Steve Smith's captaincy during the third Test between India and Australia in Indore. The visitors thumped the hosts by nine wickets and Kaneria credited Smith's captaincy for being one of the major factors for the win.
Smith was pretty proactive as a stand-in captain in his bowling changes and seemed to have clearer plans than Pat Cummins. The debate has sparked up again as to whether Cummins will remain the full-time Test captain when he returns to the team.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Danish Kaneria explained why it wouldn't be a bad idea for Australia to reinstate Steve Smith as their Test captain. He said:
"Steve Smith led his team brilliantly and marshalled his troops very well. He has had to stay away from the captaincy for a long time because of the Sandpapergate. But I feel you will see more and more of Steve Smith the captain in Tests going forward. It won't be wrong to bring him back as a permanent captain."
Kaneria also opened up on the intimidating field placements that Smith employed to force the Indian batters to play false shots. He added:
"Steve Smith set attacking fields for the whole time and just had one odd fielder out on the boundary for the big shot. He challenged the Indian batters by showing them that the fielders were just about wherever they were trying to hit the ball."
Danish Kaneria was disappointed with Rohit Sharma's captaincy on Day 3
Danish Kaneria claimed that Rohit Sharma didn't have enough close-in fielders while defending a modest target of 76. He felt that the Indian captain should have set more aggressive fields and made life difficult for the visitors.
On this, Kaneria stated:
"I understand 76 runs are very less to defend. But still you had fielders on the boundary and you didn't even try to make the chase tough for them. Even after Khawaja's wicket, there were not enough attacking fielders. I feel they let their fans down. Not many believed that India would win, but they had to believe in themselves and at least give themselves a chance by keeping attacking fields."
India will need to win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad to secure qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.