Smith queries Kohli's captaincy future

As India look to avoid their first Test series whitewash in six years, South African great Graeme Smith has said he's unsure if their skipper Virat Kohli is a long-term captaincy option.

Already 0-2 down in the series, India need to avoid defeat to South Africa in Johannesburg this week to sidestep their first series sweep since their 0-4 loss in Australia in 2011-12.

The series defeat to the Proteas is the first time India have lost a Test series since Kohli took over the captaincy on a full-time basis in 2015. But India will head to The Wanderers, where they have never lost, with scrutiny around Kohli's leadership style following Smith's comments this week that the superstar batsman needs someone in his team "who can constructively challenge him".

"I don't know, when I look at him, if he is a long-term captaincy option for India," Smith said at a function hosted by SuperSport.

"When I look at Virat, I think he needs someone in the support staff who can constructively challenge him and help him grow.

"I think if he had a really constructive person in his environment, who could talk to him, make him think, maybe even challenge him with some different ideas, in a constructive way, not an angry or aggressive way, but make him think, open his eyes to other possibilities, that would make him a really good leader."

Renowned for his combative on-field behaviour as much as his brilliant batting, Kohli's intense and competitive nature may not be having the ideal effect on some of his teammates, Smith believes.

The Proteas legend added the 29-year-old is on such a high plane as a cricketer that, much like South African star AB de Villiers, he might need to bring himself down to the level of his teammates.

"He loves that confrontation, that intensity brings the best out of him," Smith said. "Sometimes as a leader you've got to consider how you impact the others in the environment. That's an area of his leadership that he needs to grow.

"We all know how powerful Virat Kohli is in world cricket, in Indian cricket. For him, he's built this aura and for him maybe (he needs) to find a level where he can connect with all his players, to get to a level where can get the Indian team to be as successful as he is. That's something that he, when I watch him, is grappling with.

"Sometimes you talk to AB de Villiers, he gets down and reverse sweeps, he makes it look so easy. And sometimes you need to remind AB that other guys don't see it that way.

"As a leader you need to understand the whole environment, talk to the players to try to get the best out of the environment."

Meanwhile, the Wanderers is set to live up to its reputation as a haven for fast bowlers, especially after South Africa captain Faf du Plessis expressed his disappointment with the slowness of the Centurion pitch last week.

Two days out from the match, there was a generous covering of green grass on a surface baking under a hot sun, with groundsman Bethuel Buthelezi saying in a weekend newspaper interview that he was planning on preparing a "green mamba".

India, though, will be buoyed by their record at the ground; they have yet to be beaten in Tests there, with a win and three draws going back to 1992-93.

Kohli himself has happy memories of the ground, having scored 119 and 96 in the drawn first Test in 2013-14 when South Africa, set to make a world record 458 to win, finished on 7-450 in a match that showed batsmen can prosper at the ground once the initial sting is drawn from the surface.

Ajinkya Rahane, who did not play in the first two Tests, had a lengthy net at the weekend and could be recalled on the strength of a strong record in overseas Tests.

Dinesh Karthik has been flown in as a replacement for injured wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha and could play at the expense of Parthiv Patel, who had a poor game with the gloves in Centurion.

Qantas Tour of South Africa

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match v SA Invitational XI, Sahara Park, Benoni, Feb 22-24

First Test Kingsmead, Durban, March 1-5

Second Test St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, March 9-13

Third Test Newlands, Cape Town, March 22-26

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3