Steve Smith’s future as captain has divided opinion after a string of poor results under his leadership.

Former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith is one of the high-profile names to have questioned his captaincy, saying his namesake looks ‘a bit lost’ at the moment and the pressure will only increase if their performances continue to disappoint.

‘I’m sure there’s going to be a debate about him and Warner [for the captaincy] that will come into play. No doubt,’ Graeme Smith told Fox Sports.

‘I look at him and you kind of think he’s trying to figure a lot of stuff out at the moment,’ said Smith. ‘I certainly went through those phases in my career and you need to figure them out quickly.

‘He’s probably asking himself a lot of questions about style of play, what type of leader he is, what is the type of players that he wants to walk on to the field with.

‘I think he’s trying to figure that all out at the moment. It certainly looks that way and he looks a bit lost.’

Former Australian skipper Bill Lawry, meanwhile, has called for patience and said 27-year-old Smith will develop well into the role over time.

‘Smith will be a great captain, he’s a super young player and he’ll do well,’ Lawry said.

‘He’s got Warner, who is one of the best opening batsman we’ve produced in my lifetime, so aggressive and so athletic so we’ve got something to build on.’

Aussie wicketkeeper Peter Nevill shares the same sentiment.

‘I can’t speak highly enough about Steve as a player, as a person and as a captain,’ Nevill told local media.

‘I’m sure he’s got the full confidence of everybody in the change rooms.’

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