MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Test skipper Pat Cummins is ready to be Australia’s one-day captain on a rotational basis and is even open to sharing the responsibility with David Warner, the 29-year-old said on Sunday.
With Aaron Finch announcing his ODI retirement last month, Australia will need to find a leader for the 50-overs squad with less than a year to go before the 2023 World Cup in India.
Cummins acknowledged multi-format players like him could not play every match and saw logic in having a captaincy committee and dividing the role.
“(It is) something I’d be open to,” Cummins said on the eve of Australia’s Twenty20 World Cup warm-up match against India.
“Playing every single game isn’t realistic. It would be really seamless if you had a committee.
“The style of just about everyone in the team is really similar. We’ve got some great leaders in the team, we all get along great.”
Warner was slapped with a lifetime ban from any leadership role for his involvement in a ball-tampering scandal four years ago but Cricket Australia has initiated the process to revoke it.
Cummins suggested the team would welcome the development.
“There’s a few barriers at the moment, but certainly if they were removed, there wouldn’t be any qualms from any of the playing or coaching group,” he said.
“He’d be awesome at it.”
Being Australia’s batting mainstay, Warner’s form would be crucial to Australia’s title defence in the home World Cup.
Cummins said the feisty opener has been a valuable member of the side.
“He’s a leader around our group. Always has been, always will be.
“He’s someone in the test side I lean on a lot. If things change, I’m sure he would be someone you would strongly consider to step up if needed.”
In contrast to Warner’s red-hot form, Finch’s run drought has been a talking point with the Australia captain managing just one fifty in his last 10 Twenty20 Internationals.
“He’s a scary proposition for any opposition,” Cummins said throwing his weight behind the opener.
“He’s got 3,000 T20 international runs to his name, and he’s still brave enough to take the game on. Big tournament for him I’m sure.”
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Tom Hogue)
