Pat Cummins Named Australia ODI Captain as the Replacement for Aaron Finch
Pat Cummins has been named as the Australian ODI captain, as the replacement for Aaron Finch. Cummins has to take over the ODI captaincy and Test responsibilities as well. However, the Test captaincy can be juggled with other players, if Pat Cummins wants.
Cricket Australia confirmed on Tuesday, Pat Cummins is the captain of the one-day side, making him the 27th men’s ODI captain for his country. The speedster will have to lead Australia against England in next month’s ODI series.
This is after the T20 World Cup tournament. His appointment, however, is not something that most Australian fans might find easy to digest. Cummins has often been off the field due to injury concerns.
Over the last couple of years, the 29-year-old has been regularly rested from white-ball cricket games. It looks like the selectors have made the call having the 50-over World Cup in mind that is set to be played next year in 2023.
A visibly delighted Pat Cummins said that “I have thoroughly enjoyed playing under Finchy and have learned an enormous amount from his leadership.” He also added that “they are significant shoes to fill although we are extremely fortunate to have a one-day squad with a huge amount of experience.”
Besides, Cummins added that he welcomed a rotation kind of ODI captaincy with splendid options like David Warner, and Steve Smith. There is also Alex Carey who seems good enough for captaining the side.
Seasoned campaigner Mitch Marsh ruled himself from the captaincy puzzle. Cummins has realized that he may not be available for every game for Australia and hence, feels that the rotation policy would be suitable for the captain.
However, Cricket Australia officials have full confidence in him and are keen on having him as the captain for the ODIs & Tests. High-performance boss, Ben Oliver said, “we are very fortunate to have a number of high-quality leaders and senior players across all formats.
“The board and selectors agree Pat is the ideal choice to lead the ODI team through the next period including the 2023 World Cup.” They, however, need to decide on the T20 captaincy quickly if Aaron Finch decides to call it quits from all international forms of cricket after the World Cup.
Aaron Finch announced his retirement from the ODI game recently, and also added that may not be long in the T20 format as well. For the moment, we wish the new captain Pat Cummins all the very best in his new endeavors, and also know that Finch will continue as long as he can to play for his country.
