India vs Australia: Smith will do a great job if he gets captaincy again, says Wade

Matthew Wade backs Steve Smith to do well as captain of Australia

Sydney, December 7: Australia's stand-in T20 skipper Matthew Wade on Monday said batting mainstay Steve Smith, who has "plenty of say" in how the team is driven on the field, would do a "great job" if he is given the leadership role again.

Wade took over the captaincy reins for the second T20 against India in Sydney on Sunday (December 6) after Aaron Finch picked up an injury in the opening game in Canberra.

Asked about Smith, who lost the captaincy role because of his role in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, Wade said the team has a lot of options and they include the batting star.

"We have so many good leaders, I have been given the captaincy but we have got Smith, we have got Moises (Henriques), who captains his BBL team. We have guys with a lot of experience, there is a lot of discussions among the seniors but we are all working together," Wade said.

"It is not me driving the field, obviously Finchy (Aaron Finch) is our captain and we all all work together when he plays well. So Smith has a plenty of say, he has been a great captain for long time and he will do a great job if he gets an opportunity," he added.

Smith and David Warner were handed one year ban from all of cricket after they were found guilty in the Ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018. Along with the senior batsmen, opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was also handed a 9-month ban from the game.

In addition, Smith was also banned from captaincy for a two-year period. His captaincy ban period ended in March 2020 but the Australian management is yet to take a call about him.