Former Australia captain Aaron Finch downplayed the idea of Pat Cummins leading the side in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. He favoured Mitchell Marsh for the captaincy if he recovers from the hamstring injury. While Marsh captained Australia in the previous T20I series, he is yet to be announced their skipper for the mega event.
Marsh's injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 forced him to fly back home. Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting announced that Marsh will be sidelined for the remainder of the tournament due to a lingering right hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Cummins has been successful as captain for both Australia and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Cummins-led SRH are currently placed third on the points table with five wins from seven games.
While answering a question by India Today on the Star Sports Press Room Show, Finch highlighted Cummins' workload management as he has been leading Australia in all ODIs and Test formats.
"Depends on Mitchel Marsh and his fitness. He is out at the moment. If he is fit, he will captain the Australian side, in my opinion. Australian cricket is really mindful of the load on Pat Cummins as a player and as a leader," Finch said.
Cummins, the IPL's second-most expensive player, has excelled as captain of Australia as he clinched the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup titles. However, Finch suggested Marsh as a potential solution to alleviate Cummins' workload.
"It's incredibly time-consuming to be a captain of an international team and a franchise team as a leader. The fact that he is captaining in Test cricket, ODI cricket, IPL, that is an incredible load, as well as playing all 3 formats and expecting to be at your absolute best, day in and day out, which he has been for the last couple of years,” he continued.
"I think the recharge which he needs away from the game will come through Mitchell Marsh captaining and I don't know if he would be the right man for Australia at the moment.”
Finch also lavished praise on emerging talent Jake Fraser-McGurk, who has been a standout performer for DC this season after Marsh was injured. He hit 55 runs in 35 balls in his debut IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) earlier this month. Finch went on to say that he would be picked for Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup.
"In terms of Jake Fraser Mc-Gurk, I think Australia have some seriously tough selection questions when they are picking their squad in the next week or so. I know they are meeting later in the week to have their initial meeting. They probably have 2 or 3 to go through the squad and dissect everything.
"His name will definitely be well and truly on the table. There are some nervous guys around, waiting for the squad to be announced. There are so many players and talent in Australian cricket at the moment," Finch concluded.
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