After withdrawing Australian captain midway through a limited-overs series in Sri Lanka, head coach Darren Lehmann has vehemently defended the decision by pointing out to an already packed calendar ahead of the team. Meeting reporters in the aftermath of the 2nd ODI in Colombo (RPS), the 46-year old who is also a national selector revealed that Steve Smith needed some convincing before finalizing the move.
Lehmann felt, “As a coach and a selection panel, we're making sure he's fresh and ready to go each and every time he plays for Australia. We just wanted to make sure that he's fresh and ready to go for South Africa and then the big summer ahead. It was well-planned and well thought out, and that's what we're doing.“
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Following an abject Test series which they lost 0-3, Australia entered into the limited-overs leg under considerable pressure. Despite an impressive victory in the first ODI, the hosts came back to level the 5-match series 1-1.
In an era wherein balancing a player’s workload is getting more difficult by the day, Lehmann reiterated Smith’s commitment in continuing to lead the Aussies in all formats of the game.
The erstwhile middle-order batsman asserted, “He wants to keep doing that and we're very happy with the way he's leading the side.” However, Smith’s departure presents an opportunity to attacking opener David Warner who will get to captain the visitors in three remaining ODIs as well as a couple of T20Is.
He hoped, “If Steven happened to get injured, then we need David to have some experience. They're a great leadership duo together and David's been exceptional over the last couple of years, coming through some difficult times and now playing really well. Obviously, we'd like him to make a few more runs in this tour. But, having said that, with the leadership, he did really well with the IPL side (Sunrisers Hyderabad) so we're confident he'll do a good job for us.”
But, the decision has met with a strong response from former Australian cricketers who did not quite agree to the notion of pulling out a skipper halfway through the tour. In particular, the likes of Michael Slater and Dean Jones have questioned the team management’s thought process.
Not reading too much into such reactions, Lehmann believed, “We respect our former captains and former greats who have an opinion. There's no dramas, they're entitled to that. But, we think it's the best thing for Steven to get him right and ready to go.”
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