I Haven't Really Thought Too Much About the ODI Captaincy, Says Aaron Finch

Aaron Finch, on Saturday (May 5), said he is not thinking about becoming the next One-Day International skipper of the Australian team.

With around 12 months left for the next World Cup, Australia are without a captain for their ODI side after Steven Smith along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft got banned in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal during the Cape Town Test in March.

Tim Paine has been given the responsibility to lead the Test side. But with Alex Carey making it to Cricket Australia’s limited-overs focussed national contracts list for 2018-19, Paine is no certainty even to play the white-ball formats.

As a result, speculations are high that Finch might become the next ODI skipper. Aaron Finch also has the best credentials from the current lot to lead the reigning world champions. Finch had twice filled in as ODI as well as T20I skipper between 2014 and 2016. He was appointed Australia’s full-time T20 skipper in 2014 before being replaced by Smith ahead of the 2016 World T20.

He had also led Melbourne Renegades since the second edition of the Big Bash League in addition to leading Victoria in both first-class and one-day cricket.

Not surprisingly, he is seen as the front-runner to lead Australia. However, the 31-year old is still not thinking about taking the job.

“To be honest, I haven’t really thought too much about it. It is something which will be decided by Cricket Australia along with the new coach. I have been trying to concentrate on the IPL and making some improvements in my game. I am sure the new coach will be in a better position to make that decision,” he told TOI.

Australia recently appointed Justin Langer as their head coach. Cricket Australia will announce the new skipper in the coming days, as the team is set for a five-ODI, one-T20I series against England in June.

Also Read: Darren Lehmann Believes Australian Team is in Safe Hands With Coach Justin Langer