When Tim Paine's time is up, I'd like to see Steve Smith leading Australia: Ricky Ponting

Steve Smith has regained his reputation with his back to back brilliant performances. He was the one man army against England during Ashes 2019. He amassed 774 runs at a staggering average of 110.57 in the four Tests. And undoubtedly ended up being the highest run-getter of the series.

Cricket Australia (CA) had debarred the 30-year-old for one year from playing international cricket last year after the ball-tampering scandal. After returning from the ban, he first appeared in the World Cup scoring 379 runs with 85 being his best.

The best from him was yet to come. When he landed in the Ashes series, he predominantly ended the series as a top scorer. His performance can be measured on the basis that the difference between him and the second-highest run-getter was of 333 runs.

Ricky Ponting wants Smith to become the new skipper

This led to the various cricketers hailing Steve Smith‘s performances which sparked the discussion to appoint him as the Australian skipper again. Now, Ricky Ponting feels that Smith can lead the team after Tim Paine’s tenure comes to an end. Smith is currently banned from leading Australia which will end in March next year.

In an interview given to 7NEWS by the former cricketer, when asked about the speculations over Smith’s captaincy, he casually said, “I’ve been on record already — when Tim’s time is up I’d like to see Steve Smith have another go. (Smith) loves the responsibility, there’s no doubt about that.” The former Australian skipper also exuded confidence that Smith’s batting performance will not be hindered if he asked to lead the side again.

He also recited that giving the captaincy to Smith will never affect his performances and Australia can win more games. “If he’s captain again I don’t think it’ll hinder his batting at all. If it’s the right thing for the team to have him captain we’ll win more games as a result of that,” he added. Recently, Australia head coach Justin Langer had stated that Smith’s total commitment to his batting could decide his future in leadership.

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