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With the Australia-India Test series remaining surprisingly tight, both sides have given us a glimpse of the future in several ways. Perhaps the most interesting of these is which players will succeed the current skippers.
Michael Clarke’s hamstring woes have presented Steve Smith with an unexpected opportunity to stake his claims to the Australian captaincy, while MS Dhoni’s absence allowed Virat Kohli to lead his country in Adelaide.
Follow live scores of Day 5 in the Australia-India Test here
While both men have performed well filling in for the incumbents, only one of them has clearly demonstrated the maturity and restraint required of a captain.
Although Smith and Kohli have been outstanding with the bat, it is Smith’s conduct that sets him apart when assessing leadership ability.
The younger of the two players, Smith has handled the unexpected challenges presented to him with aplomb, showing an impressive capacity to keep his mouth shut at the right times.
Compared to Kohli and his direct competitor to succeed Clarke, David Warner, it is easy to see why the Australian hierarchy are so impressed with Smith’s leadership. While Kohli and Warner seem almost incapable of removing themselves from on-field clashes and chatter, Smith instead lets his bat do the talking.
Diplomacy is a key skill for any leader, and Smith seems to grasp this most readily of the trio. While Warner has certainly matured in the past 18 months, he still lags behind his younger NSW teammate in the captaincy contest.
A bit of banter is to be expected in the heat of battle. That said, if Warner and Kohli wish to remain candidates for future leadership vacancies, they need to pick their moments.
Throughout the coverage of this Test, ABC and Channel Nine commentators have noted the frequent and often unnecessary involvement of both players in clashes between the sides. Kohli in particular seems to involve himself in verbal spats almost compulsively.
Some may consider this a form of defending teammates. This may be true, but it could be done in a subtler, less confrontational manner.
Rather than potentially inflaming conflicts, Kohli could instead seek to remove antagonists from the situation. This would arguably demonstrate far greater leadership and maturity than we have seen from him to date.
In turn, Warner also appears incapable of not biting back when opponents verbally bait him, particularly after being dismissed. The nuggety opener has frequently been shown jabbering away walking off the ground throughout the series.
Contrast this with Smith, who appears more focused on winning matches than talking trash. He is not silent on the field, but is also never at the centre of unnecessary verbal jousting.
Kohli and Warner have been run machines this summer, racking up outstanding performances with the bat throughout the series to date.
However, if they wish to ascend to captain their nations in the future, they should heed the words of the great Elvis Presley – a little less conversation, and a little more action would certainly help their leadership aspirations.
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