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Cape Town - Former Australia skipper Mark Taylor feels that Steve Smith will return to the role of national team captain at some point in the future.
Smith was handed a 12 month ban from Cricket Australia for his role in a ball tampering scandal that also saw Cameron Bancroft and David Warner suspended.
Warner was also slapped with a permanent ban on holding any leadership positions with the national team but Smith will be eligible to lead the side again from March 2019.
Taylor, who is a director at Cricket Australia, told the Nine Network's Sports Sunday: "I still think Steve Smith can captain Australia.
"Steve Smith to me, and everyone wants to label people, is not a cheat. Steve Smith was guilty of negligence in my opinion.
"He saw something going on and he didn't stamp it out. That's a mistake of negligence.
"He's not a cheat, he's a very good person.
"And to me that's the biggest damage that's happened over the past few months."
The former skipper believes that Smith will learn from his mistakes and will grow both as a person and a leader.
He added: "I think if he ever does come back and captain Australia it will make him a better captain."
The new team coach Justin Langer indicated that the door was not closed on the banned trio.
Langer will be part of the panel that selects the ODI side for a visit to the United Kingdom with a new captain set to be appointed with Test skipper Tim Paine and opener Aaron Finch the favourites for the position.
