Should Steve Smith captain Australia in future? Ian Chappell has his say

The debate regarding who should captain Australia in the future has become a red-hot topic ever since Tim Paine gave hints that he might quit captaincy after the Ashes 2021-22.

Last week, Paine had said that he might step down from the responsibility to lead the Australian side if his team manages to defeat England. Not only this, but the current skipper had also backed former leader Steve Smith to succeed him.

“If I feel like the time is right and we’ve beaten the Poms 5-0, what a way to go out. Obviously (in) South Africa events happened, and he’s not doing it anymore. But yeah, I would support him getting that job again,” Paine had said as quoted by Cricket.com.au.

However, many experts and former Aussie cricketers are of the opinion that fast-bowler Pat Cummins should be handed over the role of leadership after Paine. On Tuesday, Aussie legend Ian Chappell also backed Cummins over Smith for Australian captaincy.

“I think it’s time to move on. To me, if you go back to Smith, you’re going backwards. It’s time to look ahead, not in the rear-vision mirror,” Chappell told Wide World of Sports.

Chappell spoke about Cameron Bancroft’s recent comments as well, where the Western Australian had hinted the Aussie bowlers were aware of the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

While referring to Bancroft’s statement, the cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned the chances of Cummins leading Australia in future should not be undermined even if he was aware of any plans to tamper with the ball as it was a responsibility of Smith, who was the captain at that point of time.

“If people start jumping up and down about Pat Cummins captaining Australia if he knew, well, the answer is pretty clear because it falls back on Smith,” added the 77-year-old.

“He’s (Steve Smith) the bloke who should have stopped it. The captain’s got the overall say and power to stop it, and he didn’t. I don’t think it should count against Cummins, even if they decide the bowlers did know. Smith is the bloke who should have made sure the whole thing never started,” explained Chappell.

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