Steven Smith could replace Michael Clarke as skipper post the World Cup: Reports

Steven Smith (L) and Michael Clarke

If Fairfax Media are to be believed, then top officials at Cricket Australia (CA) are looking to appoint Steven Smith as the permanent captain after the upcoming World Cup.

Although Michael Clarke will lead Australia at the World Cup starting next month provided he recovers in time for the event, his future post the World Cup is unclear. He has been given a deadline of February 21, the day on which Australia face Bangladesh in Brisbane, to fully recover from his hamstring injury.

Clarke had earlier said that he had earned the right to decide whether or not he should carry on leading the side and also wished to carry on playing till the 2019 World Cup in England & Wales.

“I think I've earned that respect." he had told Fairfax Media.

During the Allan Border Medal ceremony on Tuesday, meanwhile, Smith was asked about his thoughts of captaining the country, to which he replied saying that he had enjoyed his time leading the side on temporary basis, but he hasn’t given much thought with regards to taking over from Clarke on a full-time basis.

"It's been really good to take over temporarily and have a taste of it and I really enjoyed it. I don't really like to think about it too much regarding the future but I just like to stay as level headed as I can and take each day as it comes," Smith said.

"If that kind of thing happens in the future, then great, but if not, that's OK too. I'm just happy with where everything is at the moment and hopefully I can continue playing well.

"I think when Michael's fit and ready to go again he steps back into that role, I have no issue with that whatsoever. I have no issue with him to take the reins. He's done a terrific job over a long period of time, he's a great person to have in the team, it's all his when he's ready to come back,” he added.