I'm pretty chilled, I'll just do my thing: Smith on captaincy comeback

Smith in the 2nd ODI vs ENG played an impressive 94-run knock (Source: AP)

Arguably the best Test batter of this generation and one of the greatest from Australia - Steve Smith has always been in the limelight. Be it for good or bad affairs, the ace right-hander always finds himself in the headline.

The last couple of months have been dreadful for him as for most of the T20 World Cup 2022, Smith was seen providing water bottles to his teammates. Despite all the criticism around his place in the white-ball setup, he has amassed six fifties and four hundreds in his last 19 ODI outings. 

In the last two One-Dayers against England, the 33-year-old has piled up scores of 80* and 94. Whereas, in the latter game, he played under the captaincy of Josh Hazlewood as Pat Cummins rested himself due to the rotation policy. 

Smith played the game as Australia's vice-captain, despite being Cummins' deputy. However, he took the move made by the team management sportingly and said he is "pretty chilled" about it.

"I was vice-captain for this game and helped out where I could. They're looking to build some new leaders, some younger leaders. I'm pretty chilled, I'll just do my thing," Smith commented. 

The Sydney-born was removed as Australia's all-format after he was found guilty in the Sandpaper Gate of Cape Town 2018. He had to serve one-year long ban from the international sport and was banned from captaining his national team for two years. 

The ace batter's captaincy ban was lifted in March 2020, however, since then; he has captained Australia just once - in the Ashes of 2021 when Cummins got down with COVID-19. 

That said, a majority of pundits want the Australian modern great to return as captain. Although, former cricketer Stuart Clark says he is now more suited to playing solely as a batter. 

"If they want him to be captain, he will, and if they don't, he won't. He has gotten a bit older, he's married, and he's probably closer to the end of his career than the start. He's still got a long way to go as far as cricket goes, but he was captain for a long time," Clarke cited.

Smith, who has a Test average of 60, in the second ODI against England became the fastest Australian to the 14000-run mark in international cricket.

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