Langer explains Smith captaincy snub

After one-day captain Aaron Finch injured his glute during Friday evening’s T20 international against India, selectors were tasked with quickly finding a replacement.

Vice-captain Pat Cummins had been rested for the three-match series, leaving no obvious candidates to take over as skipper.

Despite calls for Steve Smith to take charge for Sunday’s match at the SCG, selectors instead anointed wicketkeeper Matthew Wade as Australia’s 11th captain in T20 cricket.

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Although Smith boasts an impressive resume as skipper — including a recent stint with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League — Langer believes the time isn’t right for the 30-year-old to captain his country again.

“Steve Smith’s done a brilliant job in the past,” Langer told Fox Cricket. “There’s a process probably to go through until he becomes captain again. We’ll go through that.

“We know what a great player he is — we’ve seen that his whole career.

“The exciting thing is … we’ve got so many options. We talk about building a leadership culture and leaders within the group. Matty Wade was the vice-captain.”

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Smith has not captained Australia since the ball-tampering scandal in March 2018, and several cricket fans would be opposed to him reclaiming the respected leadership position.

But Langer pointed to an iconic moment during last year’s Ashes series which proved Smith could win back the Australian public’s respect.

“When the English crowd gave him a standing ovation at the Oval last year — you talk about earning respect and earning back respect — it was one of the fondest moments of my coaching career,” Langer said.

“He’s doing all the right things to show leadership without a title at the moment.”

Langer also revealed Finch was “close” to featuring in Sunday’s T20 match, but should be fit for Tuesday’s series closer.

“(Finch) texted me this morning,” Langer said. “He said he reckons he was 70/30 to play, but when he started moving around it got sore.

“He’s got a small tear in his glute in a really strange place. But he was close, so hopefully he’ll be right for Tuesday night.”