George Bailey gets Steve Smith's backing to become Australian national side's selector

If recent Australian media reports are to be believed, former Australia captain George Bailey is set to be appointed in Cricket Australia's national selection panel. He would be joining chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns and coach Justin Langer in the panel. While an official announcement is yet to be made, another former Australian captain and one of his teammates, Steve Smith revealed his views on the potential development. 

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George Bailey a great choice for the role: Steve Smith

Steve Smith spoke about George Bailey's reported appointment before Australia take on Pakistan for the second Test on November 29. Bailey is an active player although he has not been seen in Australian colours for a while now. Smith understands that Bailey is indeed nearing the end of his career and it is good that he has played with many of the current players in the national side, helping him do his job better. Referring to Bailey's former T20I captaincy of Australia, Smith said that Bailey has played a lot of limited-overs cricket and is full of experience. His astute knowledge of the game is said to be the reason why Cricket Australia is keen to have someone of his stature on board, keeping in mind the dynamics of the game as well as the T20 World Cup on home soil next year.

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Besides Smith, batsman Usman Khawaja also reportedly commented on the looming appointment. Khawaja echoed Smith's views and considers Bailey to be the ideal man for the job since his own personal experience will make him empathise with players feeling undervalued due to increasing competition that has made selection a far more complex task in modern day cricket. Khawaja himself is out of favour currently for the Australian side, which is currently engaged in a 2-match Test series against Pakistan.

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About George Bailey

George Bailey has been arguably one of world cricket's most underappreciated cricketers. The 37-year-old has led the Australians in the T20I format and was also the ODI vice-captain. He has played five Tests and 90 ODIs for Australia. He has also had a successful T20 career, having led the Kings XI Punjab to the IPL finals in 2014. He also captained the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. 

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