Last Updated on 4 years ago by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Who will be the next Australia ODI captain? 5 leading candidates | 5 leading candidates to take over as Australia ODI Captain
Following Aaron Finch’s decision to retire from One Day Internationals (ODIs) during Australia’s 3-0 series win over New Zealand, discussions began as to who would lead Australia in the format with an eye towards next year’s World Cup in India.
A number of candidates are reportedly being considered, and whoever is named captain has big shoes to fill given Finch’s tactical nous and excellent leadership qualities.
5 leading candidates to replace Aaron Finch as Australia ODI captain
Alex Carey
Alex Carey has been earmarked as an Australian captain for some time. The keeper-batsman has established himself as a regular in the Test and ODI lineups, with his ability to play spin a highlight of his game. Such an asset may prompt the think-tank to hand Carey the position, as he promises to be a key member in Australia’s quest to win the World Cup in subcontinent conditions in 2023.
Also, Carey’s availability could be a factor that sways management to pick him as the next leader. Apart from the Big Bash League, Carey does not often feature in T20 leagues around the world, and this consistency of game time might just be the continuity the selectors are after. He did lead Australia in West Indies last year, where the Aussies won the ODIs 2-1 in tricky conditions.
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Steve Smith
Steve Smith returned to the captaincy for the first time since Cape Town in the 2021 Ashes Test at Adelaide after Pat Cummins was forced to isolate as a close COVID-19 contact. It was a successful outing for Smith, who led his side to victory amid some of the more stern resistance by England in that series.
Now, there is a strong case to appoint Smith as ODI skipper. The addition of Tim David in the T20 squad puts Smith’s position in that team under threat, which may spare up some time to freshen up for the Test and ODI formats.
Given Australia head into an important 12 months in ODIs, they may be inclined to hand the captaincy to an experienced figure.
Glenn Maxwell
Given his importance to the team, Glenn Maxwell is considered a candidate to be named the Australia ODI captain. The star player has experience captaining Melbourne Stars in the BBL, and has also captained Punjab in the IPL. However, the Stars have not yet tasted success and the all-rounder is a better chance of being named vice-captain of the ODI side, as he can offer excellent insights whilst not worrying about captaining the side.
Pat Cummins
Aaron Finch said that if anyone can juggle roles, it’s Pat Cummins.
“If anyone could handle it, it’s Pat,” Finch said. “He’s an unbelievably resilient person and has shown brilliant leadership of the Test group and I’ve loved working with him while he has been in that role and vice-captain a few times. He takes everything in his stride.”
The pace bowler, who is the current captain of the Test team, has impressed as a leader so far and will make for a good ODI captain. However, he is on record of saying that another captaincy role could be too much. Also, given CA regularly manage his workload, he may not be available for every ODI that Australia plays.
David Warner
Following his retirement, Aaron Finch also endorsed David Warner for the role. Warner has enjoyed captaincy success in white-ball cricket, leading Sunrisers Hyderabad to the title in 2016, and has spoken about wanting to captain Australia again after receiving a lifetime captaincy ban following the ball tampering gate of 2018.
However, his full on schedule, plus the fact he is set to turn 36 in October, may prompt management to choose one of the other four candidates.
