India vs Australia: ‘Don’t see a reason why he should not be allowed to do it’ - Adam Gilchrist opens up on Steve Smith captaincy debate
India vs Australia: Steve Smith was removed as Australia captain following the 2018 ball-tampering scandal that rocked the cricketing world.
As Australia head into the highly anticipated Test series against India, there continues to be debate on whether it is time for Steve Smith to return to leadership duties. Smith was sacked as Australia captain following the 2018 ball-tampering scandal that rocked the cricketing world. But the general consensus is now that Smith, who faced a subsequent ban of 12 months, is ready to return to captaincy duties whenever current Test captain Tim Paine and/or limited-overs captain Aaron Finch are ready to step aside from their respective roles.
Former Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist feels that there is no reason why Smith should not be allowed to be the captain ago. The former wicketkeeper-batsman added that Australia should appoint him as vice-captain immediately.
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“I see no reason why someone shouldn’t have a second chance and if part of that is the captaincy for Steve Smith, if he’s the right guy and the most obvious candidate, I can’t see a reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to do it,” Gilchrist told Fox Cricket.
“If Cricket Australia and the selectors feel that way, and Steve Smith is keen to do it, I think they should make him vice-captain immediately.
“And whenever those opportunities come up – when Painey (Paine) finishes, when Finchy (Finch) finishes – he just assumes it like any normal, natural progression,” Gilchrist added.
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“It takes out all the speculation and allows Steve to know, everyone to know, what the journey is going to be. It allows the natural progression to happen without the speculation. By doing that it means that when the captaincy changes there is not all this hype and uncertainty around it and focus being taken away from the cricket.
“It just means everyone is clear that’s going to happen,” Gilchrist further said.
India and Australia will play the first Test in Adelaide starting from Thursday.