Darren Lehmann defends the decision to rest Steve Smith

Australian head coach Darren Lehmann has defended the management’s decision to rest skipper, Steve Smith, half-way through the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He said that Smith needs to be fresh ahead of the South Africa series and the  summer.

Quite a few former cricketers had lashed out on the decision, but Lehmann said that this was planned long before and there is no drama associated with that. “We respect our former captains and former greats who have an opinion. There’s no drama, they’re entitled to that. But we think it’s the best thing for Steven to get him right and ready to go. We planned that for a long time and he (Smith) took some convincing, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“But as a coach and a selection panel, we’re making sure he’s fresh and ready to go each and every time he plays for Australia. We just wanted to make sure that he’s fresh and ready to go for South Africa and then the big summer ahead. It was well planned and well thought out, and that’s what we’re doing,” he added.

He pointed out that it is also an opportunity for David Warner to gain some experience. “If Steven happened to get injured then we need David to have some experience. So that’s another opportunity and that’s important for us to get him that experience,” he pointed.

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Earlier this year, Warner led his IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to title success, beating Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) in the final. “They’re a great leadership duo together and David’s been exceptional over the last couple of years, coming through some difficult times and now playing really well. Obviously, we’d like him to make a few more runs in this tour but having said that, with the leadership, he did really well with the IPL side (Sunrisers Hyderabad). So we’re confident he’ll do a good job for us,” he added.

Lehmann also mentioned that they were happy with the way Smith was leading the team but at the same time, it was important that he gets due rest to be fresh for the upcoming challenges. “He wants to keep doing and we’re very happy with the way that he’s leading the side. Obviously, with results, we’d like a few more wins here in Sri Lanka. But from our point of view, it’s a case of making sure that he’s fresh and ready to go for each tournament that comes up,” he concluded.

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