Pat Cummins Calls For David Warner's Lifetime Leadership Ban To Be lifted, Opines Co-Captains For Different Formats

Updated - 13 Sep 2022, 05:16 PM

Pat Cummins
Photo Credit: (Getty Images)

Following Aaron Finch’s retirement from ODI cricket, Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins has conceded it’s unrealistic for him to be Australia’s sole captain across all three formats. Cricket Australia officials have the next two months to decide who will replace Aaron Finch as the country’s ODI skipper,

A call on the captaincy of Australia’s T20 team is also likely to follow soon, with Finch revealing last weekend he would consider his future in that format after this summer. After Finch’s retirement from the format, Cummins has again called for David Warner’s lifetime leadership ban to be lifted.

Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch (Image credits- Twitter)

Steve Smith and Alex Carey are amongst the front-runners for captaincy roles

After initially claiming he did not want to juggle all three roles when he took over the Test team last summer, Cummins signalled his interest on Tuesday with some caveats. Cummins, Warner, Steve Smith and Alex Carey remain the likely front-runners to fill the roles between them, as a mix of the new and old of Australia’s leadership brigade.

“I think if you were going to do all the formats and every game, I don’t think that’s realistic,” Cummins told reporters at Kayo’s cricket launch. “Especially as a fast bowler, I think you do need to find windows to rest. But I think you can manage that as well.”
Steve Smith
Steve Smith [Image-AP]

“It’s not something I have really thought about. I am really happy with captaining the Test side … I don’t think they need to rush into any decision.”

Pat Cummins suggests co-captains philosophy in the future for Australian Cricket

Cummins’ suggestion would likely include something along the lines of co-captains, something not pursued in Australian cricket so far. Meanwhile, Cummins also backed Warner’s leadership capabilities, pointing out that the opening batter had assisted in making the start of Test captain easier in the past year.

Pat Cummins, David Warner
Pat Cummins, David Warner. (Photo: Twitter)

Warner remains banned from leading any Australian team following the 2018 ball-tampering scandal but stated on Tuesday he would be “privileged” to lead Australia’s one-day team.

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2022 ICC T20 World Cup Aaron Finch Pat Cummins