Warner enjoying extra sense of responsibility with captaincy

The reins of leading Australia have transferred to David Warner at a less-than-ideal moment. The visitors have already lost the ODI leg of the tour and following the defeat at Ranchi in the opening T20I, are one loss away from another series defeat. But Australia's current calamity is also an opportunity for Warner to underscore his captaincy credentials. Several experts, including former India batsman VVS Laxman, already believe Warner's naturally attacking approach to the game makes him a better candidate for leadership in the shortest format.

Laxman has seen Warner operating from close quarters when the Australian led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to IPL glory in 2016. With Smith not having played T20s for Australia since last year's World T20 and the growing pressures of having to lead the national side across all formats, there are calls from some quarters to make this T20 transition permanent. His immediate brief as captain though is to carry on the value system in place under the Smith regime and prepare his side to overcome the 0-1 deficit.

"From my point of view, it's about following on from what Steve's values are and the standards of the team and what we do to respect him," Warner said on Monday (October 9). "I try to follow down the same key messages to the guys so we're preparing as best as we can to go out on the field we're doing our best and that's all I can do to the best of my ability. It's up to the player to follow directions.

"I think if you ask each individual, you have a sense of responsibility no matter what. It's not just me It's not just me but everyone, who puts that captain's cap on. You've got a responsibility, you've got to lead your troops. It's great fun, we enjoy it, but I enjoy going out there and winning games for my country and whichever team I'm in front of. And if I'm leading it, I'm doing the best of my ability, even more than you normally would just to get the guys in the right direction as a leader."

As captain Warner has more than a few holes to plug in Australia's wobbling boat, none more critical than the