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Heradssun.com.au: MAHELA Jayawardene has joined the list of past players who have questioned captain Steve Smith’s decision to quit Australia’s one-day tour of Sri Lanka with three matches left.
Sri Lanka’s former Test skipper Jayawardene said the decision had come as a big surprise, with Australia level at one-all in the five-match series.
“Surprised to see smith going back home to prepare for SA tour when this one is not finished. Would any other @CricketAuscaptain done this?” Jayawardene said on Twitter.
Ex-Australia Test batsman Dean Jones said if Smith had returned home for a rest before the one-day series had even started, it would have given his deputy David Warner “a better chance at captaincy”.
Michael Clarke, the man Smith replaced as Test captain, said he was also puzzled by Australia’s mid-series move which was announced on Thursday.
Smith will be rested from three one-day games and two Twenty20 clashes against Sri Lanka ahead of Australia’s one-day series in South Africa next month.
“I would of liked to have seen the captain play until the series was won and then have a rest,” Clarke said on Twitter.
“In the same breath if Smithy needed a break then he should have flown home after the Test matches not 2x ODIs in.”
Ex-Test opener Michael Slater said he didn’t understand the decision.
“The captain should be there to the end!” Slater said on Twitter.
Smith’s absence at No. 3 in the one-day side is expected to bring Shaun Marsh back into calculations for a recall in Sunday’s third game in Dambulla.
Dumped Test No. 3 Usman Khawaja, who had a long conversation with chief selector Rod Marsh on Wednesday night at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium after being left out of Australia’s Twenty20 squad, is also a contender to return to the one-day side.
Middle-order batsman Moises Henriques has looked all at sea against spin, scoring six and four.
Sri Lanka is buoyed by its 82-run win in Wednesday’s second game in Colombo. The home side will be further motivated in Sunday’s third match by the occasion of veteran opener Tillkaratne Dilshan’s swansong.
The 39-year-old is set to retire amid pressure from chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya to help the board plan for the 2019 World Cup.
