Three Potential Contenders Who Can Lead Australia if Tim Paine Decides to Retire

Australian skipper Tim Pane has hinted about a possible retirement after Australia suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of England. They failed to gel as a unit and was thoroughly outplayed by the Aussies in the bilateral series. In the absence of some of their main players, the World Champions have beaten all ends up and never found a way to make a comeback in the series.

If Paine decides to retire, the captaincy dilemma will again reach the boiling point. It remains to be seen who is made the skipper if he calls it quits. There are few options. However, none of them is a permanent feature so the problem looks distinct.

Now, without wasting any time let us look at the 3 possible candidates who can take up Australia’s captaincy if Paine retires:

Aaron Finch:

The hard-hitting opening batsman Aaron Finch can be a suitable replacement if Tim Paine hangs his boots. Finch has been part of the limited overs set up for a long time and has played enough limited overs cricket for Australia to take up the captaincy. However, he is not permanent in the Test side and hence Australia needs to make a different skipper for the longest format.

Finch has been an impressive performer for Australia over the past years. He has developed a reputation if being a hard-hitting batsman. He has been in and out of the national side. However, in a situation of turmoil and given the experience he has, Finch might well be made the limited overs skipper.

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Nathan Lyon:

The off-spinner has been a veteran in the longest format of the game. He has been the sole spinner who has been a regular feature in the Australian Test team for many years. Nathan Lyon has been a sensational performer for Australia over the years in the longest format. However, he has never been a regular in the limited overs format. Hence given his experience he might be made the Test skipper.

He was recently part of the ODI squad against England. He was impressive but couldn’t quite help his team win a single match. Lyon won’t be leading Australia in the limited overs format. However, he is a likely candidate for the Test captaincy.

Shaun Marsh

The southpaw has never been a permanent feature in the Australian squad. However, he has been impressive in patches. Injuries have also played a major part all through his career. Hence he has never got a long run in the national team. But in the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner, Marsh has evolved as the mainstay of the middle order in both formats of the game.

He has been around the Australian circuit for a long time and hence deserves to lead the time. Marsh was quite brilliant for the Aussies during the ODI series in England.

Despite smashing a couple of centuries, under the leadership of Tim Paine Australia was whitewashed 5-0.

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