Fans call for Steve Smith to take over as Aussie Test captain permanently from Pat Cummins

The drums have started beating for incumbent Australian Test cricket captain Pat Cummins with fans calling for Steve Smith to replace him at the helm.

But the former Aussie skipper is having none of it, with Smith declaring his time as captain is over.

Cummins left the subcontinent to be by his terminally ill mother’s side after the first two Tests, both won by India.

The second Test included a woeful batting collapse that saw Australia lose 9-47 in a chaotic morning session.

It ultimately cost them the Test and a chance at reclaiming the Border–Gavaskar Trophy.

While many of the comments around Cummins have been cruel and undeserving of oxygen, the elephant in the room is Steve Smith.

You couldn’t wipe the smile off Smith’s face after claiming victory in the third Test, but he is not interested in taking over the captaincy permanently 

Cummins played the first two Tests before flying home to Australia to be by his sick mother’s side in palliative care

The former captain, stripped of his title and suspended for a year following the Sandpapergate scandal in Cape Town in 2016, stepped up to mark with ease in the third Test against India.

Now fans are questioning who is the best man for the job at Test level. 

‘Steve Smith is a much better Captain than Pat Cummins,’ one fan posted after the win in Indore.

‘Nothing against Pat Cummins at all and I think he’s been good as captain. But there’s just something about Smith as captain that feels right,’ posted another.

‘In my opinion, he demonstrated that he has always been a better captain than Pat Cummins,’ added another.

Other fans have pointed to the workload of Cummins, who is already the ODI skipper and is likely to inherit the T20 captaincy from the retired Aaron Finch as well.

‘As a pacer, it is not sustainable for Cummins to play ever game for Australia across formats,’ one fan suggested.

‘Might be better for a captain to be available for all the games. And Smith is definitely not a bad option as well. Did a great job at Indore as well and was ahead in terms of tactics and strategy as well,’ said another.

But it is likely to be a moot point with Smith playing a straight bat to media questioning whether he could make a permanent return to the captaincy position in the Aussie Test side. 

‘My time is done,’ he said.

‘It’s Pat’s team now. I’ve obviously been able to stand in this week, obviously in tough circumstances with Patty going home. Our thoughts are still with him back home as well.

Smith, right, shake hands with India’s Mohammed Siraj, second left, after Australia won the third cricket test match against India in Indore

Cummins has had a heavy workload since taking on the captaincy of the Australian Test and ODI teams

‘Look, India is a part of the world I love captaining. It’s a game of chess, every ball means something. it’s good to just move people and trying to make the batter do something different and, and just play games with them. It’s probably my favourite place in the world to captain.’

Smith then added some strategy notes that highlight his cricket intelligence and why he was named skipper in the first place before Sandpapergate. 

‘You think back home in Australia and generally you’re playing with a third slip or putting a third slip to cover or your square leg up or back or something like that,’ he said.

‘There’s not too much that sort of goes on with it. Sort of just stick to the same game plan and try to trust what you’re trying to do there. 

‘But this part of the world you have to be really proactive. Every ball is an event and therefore can dictate what happens after, which is something that I really love and you’ve got to be ahead of the game. 

‘So I thought I did it well this week and it was good fun.’