Is Matthew Wade considered Australia's new T20I skipper over Aaron Finch?
Australia continues to be led by Aaron Finch in T20Is, who retired from ODIs recently. However, given his shaky form and unstable leadership of late, a new T20I skipper is being considered, and Matthew Wade might fit in the role.
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Reigning Twenty20 (T20) world champion Australia will have a monumental task to defend its title in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, set to get underway next month in its backyard. However, it might have a headache concerning a leader that would lead the side in the global event. Long-time skipper Aaron Finch is currently leading the side. However, his sudden retirement from the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) concerning poor form and unstable leadership of late has led to the Australian management pondering on a new captain. While many names have popped up, it seems like wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade is the name best suited for it.
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It must be noted that Wade is currently a contracted cricketer for Cricket Australia (CA). As for his ODI leadership replacement, David Warner is tipped as the top guy, while discussions are on with CA regarding overturning the latter's captaincy ban. As for the shortest format, Sydney Morning Herald reports while Finch might be leading the side during the T20WC, either Warner or Wade would take up the role following the global event.
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"Before the 2018 cultural review of Australian cricket, Wade had been selected on at least one occasion for his 'mongrel' and verbals from behind the stumps, replacing Peter Nevill in the Test team in November 2016. It was a move that left then-selector Greg Chappell aghast," read SMH's report.
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Wade is likely to earn only around AUD350,000, having played just 12 T20Is this year, including the recent three T20Is in India. However, he hinted at his leadership calibre by praising his side and churning out positives from the 1-2 series flop. "We're always pretty positive because we play seven batters now — that's a shift we made just before the World Cup last year — genuine batters and made up the fifth bowler in the top six. We've got a lot of depth in our batting and confidence that we can chase big scores," he spoke during the India tour.
