Will Steve Smith's comeback make a difference to Australia?

Under-fire former Aussie skipper Steve Smith is once again dominating headlines, as Australian coach referred to the erstwhile captain as the 'Virat Kohli' of his team. Smith and David Warner were pushed to the sidelines after the Sandpaper Gate ball-tampering rocked the team in South Africa.

'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'

In the time since Smith and David Warner were banned from playing for the Australian cricket team, the side has routinely struggled to perform in both domestic and overseas matches. It suffered a whitewash against England in ODIs and T20s, lost to Pakistan in a tri-nation T20 tournament and lost Tests to a weak South African team.

Even at their best, legendary skipper, Steve Waugh referred to India as the final frontier, the last unconquered land in his cricketing odyssey. Without the likes of Smith and Warner, the side can forget about being competitive let alone win on foreign tours, where stalwarts such as Shane Warne and Steve Waugh found it difficult to stitch a series win together.

The "Kohli" Effect

Justin Langer has referred to Steven Smith as the Australian "Kohli", leading to comparisons between the two superstars. However, time will tell whether Smith's return will be as transformational for the side as his peers lead us to believe.

Virat Kohli has smashed record after record on his way to cementing his place as the pre-eminent batsman of his generation. Since October 2017, he has been the top-ranked ODI batsman in world cricket and is currently the leading batsman in the Test rankings. Since assuming the mantle of India's captain from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kohli has wanted to transform the team in his image, which is confident, fearless and audacious.

Results have followed, with Kohli becoming the first Asian captain to win a Test match in England, Australia, and South Africa. Barring a major loss in the Champions Trophy final against Pakistan, his record as a limited-overs captain has also been outstanding.

Smith's Australia

Undoubtedly, Smith is Australia's greatest batsman and his place in the side is unquestionable, as is his thirst for runs. All the hoopla surrounding Usman Khawaja notwithstanding, the erstwhile Aussie skipper is the best batsman the country has produced since Ricky Ponting.

But can he be considered in the same league as Kohli, and will his return rid Australian Cricket of all that ails it is another question entirely?

Justin Langer has referred to Smith as Australia's version of Virat Kohli

Since his ascension to the top of the Australian batting order, Smith has regularly produced Test performances that place him at the very top of the international market, but his influence in overseas Tests is minimal. He has been unable to lead the side to a victory on Asian soil and Australia are still waiting to taste victory in England since surrendering the fabled Ashes urn back in 2005.

In comparison, India has recorded a Test win in all overseas tours where Kohli has served as captain, a landmark achievement that even the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar cannot boast. In every series the men in blue have played under his leadership, they have started as strong favourites, indeed many pundits have criticized the team on not winning these series outrightly.

India now stands as a titan in world cricket, with Kohli as the crown jewel in the lineup. In major tournaments as well, India is now a force to reckon with, consistently making it to the knockout stages, while the only trophy Australia won recently was the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which was held in their own backyard.

Virat Kohli is in a league of his own

Pros and Cons of bringing Smith back

With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 looming, Australia will be looking towards gaining a world-class batsman in Smith back in time to defend their title in England. The Australian team is competitive but is nowhere near the world beater it will be if both Warner and Smith are within its ranks.

Australia also has a number of tough assignments ahead in Test cricket, where they will need Smith to back them up when the side has its backs against the walls. In the 2017 Australian tour of India, Smith was the architect of a number of Test masterclasses, with his first century on subcontinent soil paving the way for a memorable victory at Pune.

No one in the current Aussie line up has the wherewithal to manage such epics barring maybe David Warner, who is also being made to sweat out his ban before he can don the green and gold again.

But bringing Smith back could also lead to players in the Aussie dressing room thinking of ball-tampering as a light offence. There was a huge hue and cry all over the world when Mohammad Amir was brought back into the side after spot-fixing allegations brought disrepute to his country and the game.

Although the two offences are incomparable, there are pundits that want a zero tolerance policy for offenders and are calling for Cricket Australia to sever ties with Smith and Warner completely.

Bringing Mohammad Amir back caused an uproar

Larger Problems

Australian cricket has some genuine problems that they need to address and they will not go away with just a Smith return. The risk is that his 2019 comeback could mask some of the genuine issues plaguing the side, such as the dearth of spinners, lack of quality batsmen and apathy of the modern player towards Test cricket.

Smith can help them taper over the cracks, but over the long term, the side will need to start cultivating talent that can play well in all conditions against varied oppositions. If that does not happen, a thousand Steve Smiths won't make a difference and Justin Langer's words notwithstanding, Smith will never have the same impact as a Virat Kohli.