Australia’s legendary opening batsman and skipper Aaron Finch announced his retirement from One Day internationals during the ODI series vs New Zealand at home. The 3rd and last match of the odi series also marked an end to his brilliant ODI career which spanned more than 9 years.
With his stepping down, a big question which arises now in the Australian camp is of “Who’s going to take up the captaincy responsibilities hereon?”. Australia has been a champion side without a doubt over the last several years on the biggest of stages. The team has seen several highs in the presence of influential leaders like Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and many others in the past.
The present Australian team too consists of several highly talented players who are capable of taking the team to greater heights in world cricket. It’s time for us to have a look at the three possible players who might be leading Australia Post Aaron Finch’s retirement from the ODIs:-
3. Pat Cummins
Australia’s talented fast bowler and current test captain, Pat Cummins is one of the possible players who might be appointed the ODI captain of the team hereon. The 29-year-old was appointed the test captain in November of 2021 following the resignation of Tim Paine and has achieved remarkable results as a captain since then. Under his leadership, Australia managed to register a historical 4-0 ashes win against a strong England side.
He also leads his team to a fantastic series win over Pakistan in Pakistan with brilliant performances both as a captain and as an individual. With his determination and will to succeed he might well be the captain that Australia needs to achieve glory in white ball cricket as well now.
2. David Warner
Australia’s experienced opening batsman, David Warner is also another possible option to lead Australia in ODIs hereon. The left handed batsman who was banned from holding any leadership positions for his national team following the ball-tampering incident back in 2018 might well be making a return to his team’s captaincy role once again following the retirement of his opening partner Aaron Finch.
The 36-year-old has shown his skills as a leader on several occasions for his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad after leading them to the title in 2016. His abilities as an individual too have been exceptionally good even at 35 years of age and hence he might be a perfect option to be the next captain ofr Australia in the ODIs.
1. Steve Smith
Steve Smith is most probably going to take up the captaincy responsibilities. Smith was the captain of the side back in 2018 when he along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were held responsible during the infamous ball-tampering scandal as a result of which he was handed a lifetime from leading his National side. However, cricket Australia has seemed to move on from that event with time.
The fact that he was handed the captaincy duties in the second test match against Pakistan in the recent series when regular skipper Pat Cummins was out with COVID speaks of the enormous trust that the management has entrusted to him. With Amazing performances in white ball cricket lately in the series vs New Zealand, the 33-year-old has cemented his place even further in the team. Hence he might be one of the most proper options to lead Australia in One Day International from here on.
Also Read:- T20 World Cup 2022: 3 surprise selections in India’s Squad