Aakash Chopra Shortlists Three Players To Succeed Tim Paine As Australia Test Captain

With Tim Paine resigning as Australia captain ahead of the Ashes series against England, many fans have been left wondering about the wicketkeeper-batter's successor. Paine recently quit as skipper due to a controversial texting scandal. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, known for his opinion videos on cricket, decided to share his perspective on the situation. Speaking via his YouTube channel, the commentator gave his support to "frontrunner" Pat Cummins. Chopra also included Marnus Labuschagne as a possible captain and also stated that "there is no harm" to select former captain Steve Smith too.

"I feel Pat Cummins is the frontrunner. He is a fast bowler and his pedigree is to play all five Test matches in a row, which could become a lot. But then if you look at Steve Smith. He is tainted. Although he is eligible for captaincy but the high moral ground taken by Australia puts Cummins as the frontrunner", he said.

"If he is not made, they go to a batsman. I won't be surprised if they give it to Marnus Labuschagne. This also can happen. I won't be very surprised", he further added.

Giving his support to Smith, Chopra stated that the Ashes series could be too big for Labuschagne. 

Smith was removed as Test captain in 2018 due to a ball-tampering scandal (sandpaper scandal) in Cape Town. It also led to one-year bans for Smith and former vice-captain David Warner.

"If you don't have that much trust on Cummins and you feel that the Ashes series could be too big for Labuschagne. Then you could always go back to Steve Smith, there is no harm", said Chopra.

"The sandpapergate was a mountain out of a molehill. It was overhyped and everyone has ball-tempered at least once in their life."

The Ashes series begins from December 8 with the first Test match scheduled to be held at The Gabba in Brisbane.

Topics mentioned in this article

The Ashes, 2021/22 Australia Cricket Team England Cricket Team Tim Paine Aakash Chopra Cricket