5 reasons why David Warner should replace Steven Smith as Australia's T20I captain

#2 Opportunity to start preparations for 2020 World T20

Warner might just be the ideal skipper to break Australia's World T20 drought

Be it the World Cup or the Champions Trophy, Australia have been the most dominant team in ICC tournaments. Their win-loss ratio in Tests as well as ODIs stand as testament to their overall supremacy in the game. However, there is still one trophy that continues to evade their capture. Despite participating in six editions of the competition, they are yet to lift the World T20. Their best campaign thus far has been the runner-up appearance in the 2010 edition in West Indies.

From 23 matches spanning across five editions of the World T20, Warner has scored just 473 runs at an inadequate average of 21.50 with only three fifties. While the additional responsibility of captaincy has an detrimental effect on certain players, the left-hander's case could become the opposite. During his victorious 2016 IPL season with Sunrisers Hyderabad, he went toe to toe with a rampaging Virat Kohli by smashing 848 runs from 17 games at an astonishing average of 60.57 and blistering strike-rate of 151.42 including nine fifty-plus scores. Having shown that he can take his game to the next level when his leadership skills are brought to the fore, the southpaw has it in him to rectify his abysmal World T20 record if the team management show faith by providing him with an opportunity to lead his country. After all, he has already given an apt demonstration of his ability to thrive under the unshackling influence of captaincy.

With the next World T20 scheduled to take place down under, Australia have a solid chance to add the only missing element to their illustrious trophy cabinet. The next edition is slated to occur only in 2020. But the Aussies have to begin their preparations for the tournament as quickly as possible. Appointing a separate specialist captain could be a pivotal step in that regard. If the selectors enable Warner to stamp his authority and fashion a team in his own image, the team's chances may improve by a substantial margin.