Brad Hogg Reveals Who Should Succeed Aaron Finch As Australia's White-Ball Skipper

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has started looking beyond Aaron Finch to lead the national team in white-ball cricket. Aaron Finch has captained Australia admirably well, taking over from Tim Paine after June 2018. With the swashbuckling opening batsman nearing his twilight years in international cricket, Brad Hogg has backed keeper-batsman Alex Carey as his successor.

While there remains no immediate threat to Aaron Finch’s captaincy, his fluctuating returns in limited-overs internationals have forced the experts to look beyond him. Notably, the 35-year old has also expressed his desire to play and lead in the 2023 World Cup and he would be 39 by then. Thus, it would be a bridge too far to expect the Victorian to be at his best for the showpiece event in India.

As for Alex Carey, he has established himself as permanent member in the ODI line-up, if not in the T20 arena as yet. The South Australian starred with the bat in the 2019 World Cup by playing maturely and responsibly, serving Australia according to the needs of the situation. Carey has also lead the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League and Australia A and now would be the right time for the men in yellow to groom him if they consider.

I love to see Aaron Finch as a white-ball captain although he is under pressure with his batting form: Brad Hogg

Brad Hogg underlined that with the cricketing schedules still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, he prefers separate captains for two formats. While he backed Pat Cummins as Test captain, he earmarked Alex Carey to succeed Aaron Finch as the white-ball skipper since the opener seems to be struggling with the bat. Simultaneously, he wants Finch to continue till the T20 World Cup this year.

“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 told Times Now.

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