Ian Chappell believes Steve Smith can use the remainder of the current series against India to state his case for the full-time captaincy.
Australian skipper from 1971-1975, Chappell has backed Smith to poach the role on a permanent basis as the second Test kicked off in Brisbane on Wednesday without Michael Clarke.
The 33-year-old Clarke will miss the remainder of the four-Test series after sustaining, and playing through, a hamstring injury in Adelaide last week.
A veteran of 108 Tests, Clarke has struggled to remain fit for an entire calendar year in recent seasons and conceded “there’s a chance I could never play again” after managing his 28th Test century in the series opener.
“(Smith) could be captain for quite a while now and if he does a decent job I don’t think Michael Clarke should be given the job back. I think Smith should keep it,” Chappell told Channel 9 on day one.
“If Michael Clarke does come back, his injury history now is so bad that as a selector you’d be very worried that he’s there for one and gone for a couple. I don’t think you need to be chopping and changing.
“If Smith’s doing a good job I’d just say, ‘right, we’ll stick with him’ and have Michael Clarke as a player.”
Chappell last week set the torch to Indian captain MS Dhoni, backing stand-in Virat Kohli to take the reins after first Test scores of 115 and 141.
“In India’s case, Kohli’s performance over three and a half days must have tempted the selectors into thinking now is the right time to elevate him to full-time Test captaincy,” wrote Chappell in a column for ESPNcricinfo.
“There’s no doubt that Dhoni has passed his use-by-date as a Test captain, and this seems the perfect time to enact the changeover.”
A hand injury prevented Dhoni from playing in the first Test, however the wicketkeeper re-joined the Indian side for day one of the second Test on Wednesday.
Photo:Saeed Khan/Getty Images.
