Bit of process before Steve Smith can be reinstated as captain, reveals Justin Langer

In 2018, Steve Smith’s incredible run as Australia’s captain came to an end after the infamous Newlands ball-tampering incident which led to him being stripped of his captaincy. Smith was reinstated into the setup ahead of the 2019 World Cup, and was handed a 'leadership ban', but, from thereon, has made an instant impact in the Australian colours, quickly establishing himself as one of the best batsman in the country across both white-ball cricket and red-ball cricket.

On Sunday, after Aaron Finch was ruled out of the second T20I against India, senior batsman Matthew Wade walked out as the skipper for the Kangaroos. Following the loss against India, Justin Langer explained the reason behind Wade getting the nod over Steve Smith as the captain of the Australian team. He revealed that there is still a ‘bit of process’ required before Smith can be reinstated as the captain of the national side. 

"Of course, we talked about a number of things. We've got so many options. Steve Smith has done a brilliant job in the past. There's probably a bit of a process we need to go through until he becomes captain again. We'll go through that,” Langer told Fox Sports, reported Cricbuzz. 

However, Langer also expressed that Smith is doing everything right to show leadership without a title and his time would come soon enough. 

"When the English crowd gave him a standing ovation at The Oval last year - talk about earning respect ... he's doing all the right things to show leadership without a title at the moment," added Langer.

From an injury point of view, the Australian coach stressed out on the fact that the injuries this season has been rather ‘unusual’ and would need a review later on for preparation. 

"We've got six injuries now, which is really unusual. We'll obviously review it. That's one of the challenges moving forward when guys are playing all the tours (and have) different sorts of preparations."