Australia have confirmed their captain for the upcoming fourth and final Test against India. The visitors were forced to make a captaincy change after Pat Cummins returned home following the second Test in order to be with his ill mother.
In his absence, Steve Smith led the team and did a brilliant job as captain. The batting star had his task cut out as captain as he was leading the team after they suffered crushing defeats in the first two Tests. Australia lost both the Tests inside three days and were on the verge of losing their 4th consecutive Test series against India.
Steve Smith, however, led his team brilliantly and guided them to a famous win. On a rank-turner in Indore, Australia outfoxed and outplayed India to win the contest in just over two days. The visitors thrashed the hosts by 9 wickets to book their place in the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Australia’s captain for 4th Test:
Steve Smith will have a chance to lead Australia in another Test as he has been confirmed as their captain for the upcoming fourth Test against India. Cummins has decided to be with his mother Maria who is ill with breast cancer and is in palliative care.
Cricket Australia, however, is yet to make a call on Cummins’ availability for the upcoming three-match ODI series that follows the Test. The fast-bowler is also the captain of the ODI side.
Meanwhile, Smith has already ruled out the possibility of him becoming Australia’s full-time Test captain. After guiding his team to a win in Indore, the right-handed batsman stated that his time as a captain is over.
“My time is done. It’s Pat’s team now,” Smith told reporters after the nine-wicket win. “I’ve obviously been able to stand in this week, obviously in tough circumstances with Patty going home. Our thoughts are still with him back home.
“But India is a part of the world I love captaining … it’s probably my favourite place in the world to captain.
“Every ball is an event and therefore can dictate what happens after, which is something that I really love and you’ve got to be ahead of the game. So I thought I did it well this week and it was good fun,” he added.