Ricky Ponting Names His Pick For The Next ODI Captain For Australia

Australia’s limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch announced his retirement, earlier this month. Following the decision, it has left an obvious void for the role to be filled by someone credible and take forward the captaincy rein.

Off late, Finch has struggled in this particular format and hence his decision cannot be looked at as a major surprise, opined Ponting. His retirement means that the Aussies are now looking for a new ODI skipper and former captain Ricky Ponting believes that Pat Cummins would be the ideal choice for the side in the 50-over format.

Ricky Ponting justifies why Pat Cummins would be the perfect fit for the captaincy role

Speaking to ICC Review, Ponting said, “I think it’ll be Pat Cummins, to be honest. I know he doesn’t play all the ODIs for obvious reasons, because his workload in Test cricket has been, like all the fast bowlers, very high in the last few years.” 

“I know they are very conscious of making sure that they’ve got Cummins, (Josh) Hazlewood and (Mitchell) Starc a 100 percent fit and healthy for the big Test series to come around. But look, I’ll be surprised if it wasn’t Pat Cummins,” he added.

Ricky Ponting lauds Aaron Finch’s decision to step down and retire

When asked about Finch’s retirement decision, Ponting said, “I wasn’t surprised actually. I sort of personally felt that he was probably one game away or one failure away from getting dropped anyway. That’s how bad his last 12 months have been in one-day international cricket.”

“I think it was the right time. I actually thought it was really noble, what he said as well, that stepping down when he did, it gives the next captain a reasonable time leading in to get themselves and his team ready for the next World Cup,” he added.

Finch played 146 ODIs during his career, averaging 38.89 with the bat and his tally of 17 tons in ODIs is the third-highest by an Australian player.

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