Smith is the best choice for captaincy: John Buchanan

The Decision Review System (DRS) has been media’s man of the series in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy so far for creating such ruckus and giving them headline after headline. Leaving that aside, the cricket played has been of the highest quality. Both the sides have showcased their talent and the series has been highly entertaining.

However, John Buchanan, former Australian coach who brought only glory to the Australian cricket team during 1999-2007 says that he does not support the DRS. The inaccuracy of the system is the reason for Buchanan not supporting the evolving technology. He believes that it creates unnecessary tension among the players on the field.

Buchanan said: “I am not a supporter of DRS as a means to enhance the adjudication of certain decisions during the course of a game. I think because of its inaccuracies and inadequacies, it can incite unnecessary tensions on-field between captains, teams and between players and umpires.”

The 63-year-old believes that the game should be managed by umpires and umpires only. DRS should not be a part of the game. He was also of the opinion that the system needs a thorough look in.

“If we are to retain the integrity of the game, then DRS and other decision-making aids need significant review. If nothing else, the game should be managed by the umpires only. There should be no questioning of the umpires’ decisions by emotionally charged players,” said Buchanan while talking to Times of India on Thursday.

The former coach of the Australian team that won three consecutive World Cups said that Steve Smith and even Virat Kohli for that matter have a long way to go before they perfect their leadership skills. Stating every leader has his own style Buchanan said, “Every leader has his or her specific styles. What is more important for team leaders is that they are men of integrity, lead by example in every action and behavior.”

He also said that both of them know they made errors in leadership. “I think both gentlemen know that they have made errors in leadership, if we are analyzing their respective performances in this regard and using 100% as the only acceptable grade,” added Buchanan.

However, he also praised them both for their decision making skills stating that both the captains have been exceptional in leaving out the emotion when making decisions. While he also mentioned how both the captains have been able to use their teammates to the best of their abilities.

He said, “Two of the most important aspects to watch are – how both captains go about harnessing the powers and abilities of each member of their teams. The second (aspect) is how well each leader has been able to keep themselves removed from the emotion of the game, often driven by scoreboard pressures and make decisions consistently throughout the heat of battle,”

The former Australian coach believes that Smith has a lot to learn. He is learning from Darren Lehmann and other coaching staff and believes that he is improving game by game. “I think there is little doubt that he is the best captaincy choice for Australia. With guidance of Coach Darren Lehmann, high-performance manager Pat Howard and significant voices around him at various times, his leadership skills are improving,” explained Buchanan.