Former Australian skipper and 2007 and 2015 World Cup winner, Michael Clarke, believes fast bowler Pat Cummins can lead Austalia in all three formats and said the team management need to make quick decisions on who they see leading the teams across formats shortly.
After sustaining their second successive home series loss against India, Tim Paine’s place in the team as a captain has come under immense scrutiny as many pundits and fans have started criticising him and feel that the 36-year-old wicket-keeper batsman should be snubbed from captaincy.
However, Australia's limited-overs captain Aaron Finch's poor run in Big Bash League has also raised questions on him leading the team in the T20 World Cup this year.
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Referring to Tim Paine’s place as a captain in Test side Clarke said that if Australia does not wish to continue with Paine as captain in the Ashes this year, then they need to make the switch immediately before the South Africa tour.
“They’ve got to make a decision based on timing, for both formats. Australia go to South Africa for a Test series, then they come back, and we’ve got the Ashes next. For mine, if Tim Paine is going to be the captain during the Ashes, stick with him.
"If he’s not, he’s got to go now because you’ve got to give the new captain the opportunity in that format before an Ashes series. Way too big a series to walk in and make your debut as a captain. Too big. [If Paine goes to South Africa], he’s got to be a part of the Ashes series," Micheal Clarke told Sky sports.
Michael Clarke further if the selectors do not wish for Finch to lead the Australian team in the T20 World Cup, they need to let him go immediately.
“I say the same thing in the Twenty20s as well. If Aaron Finch is going to captain the T20 World Cup, keep him as captain now. If he’s not, he’s got to go now, so the new captain has the opportunity to get some leadership under his belt before he goes to India for a World Cup. The timing is very important right now for Australian cricket," he said.
Michael Clarke, 39, opined that Pat Cummins can lead Australia in all three formats.
"They’ve got to make a call: are we sticking with what we have or are we making that change? If they decide to make the change, my opinion is Pat Cummins can captain all three formats,” said Michael Clarke.
Reflecting on Pat Cummins’s performance in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the former Australian captain said Pat Cummins will be the leader who will lead from the front.
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“Pat Cummins just showed us he’s ready. Whatever you throw at this Australian team and at Pat Cummins, he’s ready. He’s shown his character; the man of the series in a series that you just got beaten by, at one stage, India’s second-string team.
Pat Cummins, he is the one player that did stand up for Australia, so I think we very clearly got a good glimpse at the type of character Pat Cummins is,"
“If they’re going to go the way [where] Tim Paine’s time is up, we’re bringing in a few new, younger players, then I’m cool with that, but Pat Cummins is the leader. Pat Cummins is that captain," he concluded.
However, despite being losing the series against India, Pat Cummins was the leading wicket-taker of the series and was awarded the Man of the Series for his heroics.
(PTI Inputs)
