Warner leaves T20 captaincy call up to Smith, selectors
David Warner will return from a mini-break to again lead Australia against New Zealand in the triangular Twenty20 International series on Friday (16 February), but the stand-in captain is in no hurry to take over from Steven Smith, the regular skipper, full time in the shortest format.
“I'm his deputy so I try and help him as much as I can so he's in the (right) frame of mind,” Warner told cricket.com.au. “I try and do as much as I can and make sure I'm doing everything right with the boys to make his job a lot easier.”
Warner has won six of seven games while leading Australia’s T20I side, including all three in the Trans-Tasman Tri-Series so far, paving his team’s path into the final. He has also lifted the Indian Premier League title while at the helm for Sunrisers Hyderabad. His aggressive style of captaincy has come in for praise, including from coach Darren Lehmann.
Smith, who is No.1 in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, has not featured in a T20I since March 2016 and was rested for the triangular series.
However, he has made it clear that he would like to continue to stay in charge in all formats, and insisted he had a future in the 20-over game.
“In an ideal world, I’d love to play every game. I don’t really like resting,” said Smith recently. “[But] on this occasion I think it was the best thing for me and other guys as well. It's nice to know that if I do have a rest, Davey can step up and do a terrific job.
“I’m comfortable at the moment (captaining all formats). Obviously it’s been a while since I played a Twenty20 International – I think about two years – hopefully I’ll be available in the next year or so.”
Australia, who could rise to No.2 in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings this week, will be the home side in the ICC World T20 2020, a tournament they have never won.
But whether it will be Smith leading them while they prepare for that tournament is a decision Warner was keen to leave to Smith and the selectors.
"It depends on how Smithy is going mentally with all three forms,” said Warner. "He's said that he's happy doing all three forms and I respect that.
"But it's quite a tough job. It's not just the cricket he has to deal with, it's everything else that comes with the game. I don't think people see that as often and it can be quite challenging.