Steve Smith was the captain, he did not stop it: Ian Chappell on 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal

Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell has said that had Steve Smith stopped his teammates, the infamous 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal would not have happened altogether. Chappell said that giving back captaincy to Smith will be like going backwards.

Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has said that even if the bowlers were aware about the ball being tampered during the infamous 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa, Pat Cummins' candidature for captaincy of the national team should not be affected. Chappell minced no words and held the then-captain Steve Smith responsible for the entire episode which rocked Australian cricket. The 77-year-old stated that it was Smith's responsibility to stop his teammates from tampering the ball and giving him back the Test captaincy will be like going backwards. "If people start jumping up and down about Pat Cummins captaining Australia if he knew, well the answer is pretty clear, because it falls back on Smith," Chappell told Wide World of Sports.