Harare: Australia coach Justin Langer has hinted that the current T20I skipper Aaron Finch is likely to be appointed as the captain of the one-day international (ODI) team as well.
After slumping to a six-wicket defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the finals of the T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe, the Australian coach admitted that they need to ponder upon many areas, including the team leadership.
“After this tour, we’ll have a really, really close look at everything we’re doing at the moment including our leadership, which is such an incredibly high priority in Australian cricket,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Langer, as saying.
“Finchy has definitely put his best foot forward in this series. So we’ll look at that. We’ll look at all our staff. We’ll look at everything to make sure we keep flying forward, as is the expectation of the Australian cricket team,” he added.
Finch displayed an impressive form in the recently-concluded T20I tri-series, emerging as the leading run-scorer after smashing 306 runs at the strike rate of 201.31 in five innings.
Heaping praise on Finch for his recent promising performances, Langer said that he is brilliant and it is great to have a dynamic player like him in the team.
“He’s been brilliant. Finchy and I spoke privately yesterday and I told him he’s done a great job at the top of the order. To have someone that dynamic is a great example to all our players,” Langer said.
It should be noted that Australian ODI captain Tim Paine’s leadership abilities are currently under scanner after the side’s crushing 0-5 ODI defeat against England last month.
Paine took over the captaincy after former skipper Steve Smith was handed a year ban for his alleged role in the massive ball-tampering scandal during the third Test match against South Africa at New Lands.
ANI