Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey
Mark Waugh backs Steve Smith for captaincy, Shane Warne differs | Mark Waugh said that Steve Smith should captain again
Mark Waugh has voiced his opinion about Steve Smith and feels he deserves a second run as the skipper of the Australian cricket team. The star batsman was heading the team before the ball-tampering incident in South Africa and was sentenced to a two-year captaincy ban. His return this year has played a significant role in the team and his romance with the bat is still as heated as it was before.
In an interview with Fox Sports’ Heavy Roller Podcast, Waugh said that Smith has a great cricketing brain and his experience of leading the side in the past also could be beneficial. “I would have made Steve Smith captain. He is one of the best players on the team, so he is always going to be picked in the team. Plus he has captained Australia for a number of years. He’s got a great cricket brain and I think he is a leader, so why not?”, he said very frankly to the host.
After multiple injuries in the team, there were talks of giving back the captaincy to Smith in the upcoming Test matches against India. In the second T20I, Matthew Wade was made the stand-in skipper as Aaron Finch injured himself in the first game. “I know a lot of people say why should he captain again? But hang on the crime has been paid for as minor as I thought it was,” Waugh said. “He’s paid his penance there, so he gets back to the captain. I think he is a pretty good captain.”
However, spin legend Shane Warne totally differs from Waugh’s opinion and feels Smith’s time as captain is up and he should focus more on his runs for the country. “I wouldn’t (make him captain), I think Steve Smith has had his time. I would go with someone else as captain. Steve Smith, we want to bat and bat,” Warne said. “I think we just let him bat and play. His time has been. It has got nothing to do with the issues in South Africa for me. I just think it is time for someone else”, he added.
Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.
