While Tim Paine has been leading the Aussies in whites, Aaron Finch hasn’t done a bad job either leading the side in limited-overs cricket. However, Paine’s captaincy came under the scanner after an injury-marred Indian team, without their regular skipper in Virat Kohli, bounced back from a humiliation in the first Test to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1.
Several names have been doing the rounds as to who should be Paine’s successor? While Steve Smith is definitely in contention to take up the job once again, according to former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg, premier paceman Pat Cummins should be Australia’s next captain.
Speaking to timesnownews.com, Hogg lauded vice-captain Cummins as a fantastic role model both on and off the field and backed the pacer to take up the captaincy from Paine going forward.
“I think Australia’s most deserving candidate for captaincy in both off and on the field is Pat Cummins. I think he (Cummins) is a fantastic role model and a brilliant cricketer. I think he is just perfect for the role like he does for the New South Wales. The only issue I have is that the fast bowlers do have a lot more work compared to others. Pat may have to sacrifice to play other domestic leagues such as IPL to make sure that he is going to play the majority of the games in National colours. Smith might have a fantastic cricket brain but I don’t think the Australian public are still ready to see him as a leader,” Hogg said.
When asked whether he would want to see Cummins lead Australia across formats, the former Chinaman spinner opined that he would prefer split captaincy for the Australian team.
“We’re still in the protocols of COVID-19 pandemic wherever we go to play so I would prefer two different skippers in limited-overs and Test cricket. I think Australia have enough squad depth to make two sides. I love to see Aaron Finch as a white-ball captain although he is under pressure with his batting form. He should definitely remain captain till T20 World Cup later this year. After that, Alex Carey might take the role as many see him as a promising leader,” Hogg, who represented Australia in 123 ODIs, 15 T20Is and 7 Tests, added.
