Steve Smith Not Temperamentally Sound To Be Australia Captain, Says Kerry O'Keeffe

Former Australian cricketer Kerry O'Keeffe on Wednesday took a dig at the Australian captain Steve Smith, saying that he was not "temperamentally sound enough" to lead the side. O'Keeffe feels that Smith over-reacted too often during the lost Test series against India. Australia were outclassed 2-1 by India in the series and Smith apologised for letting his "emotions falter" several times during the four-match rubber, which was marred by acrimony between the two sides.While Smith was apologetic, rival captain Virat Kohli gave a fair indication that the hostility between the two teams would not end anytime soon by saying that he doesn't consider Aussies his off-the-field friends any more.

O'Keeffe felt Smith led with sincerity but he is too emotional for the high-pressure job. "He leads from the front (and) he's finding out about leadership," O'Keeffe said on 'Fox Sports' Back Page Live'.

"Is he temperamentally sound enough to be the captain of our country? Probably not, because he's so emotional. We've seen when he's on the field he's overly reacting to everything," added the leg-spinner, who played 24 Tests for Australia and picked 53 wickets.

O'Keeffe mentioned Smith's outburst and use of cuss words after Murali Vijay claimed a grassed catch off Josh Hazlewood to justify his stance.

"That catch was (not) cleanly taken. He decided to go with the cheat line. There's an emotion to Steve Smith that basically is at the core of his game," O'Keeffe said.

Smith, however, had a fantastic series with the bat, making 499 runs, which included three centuries, with a superb average of 79.28. He also remained the top scorer for the series.