Tim Paine's retirement hint likely to mark Steve Smith's return as Australia captain soon

Australia's red-ball captain Tim Paine on Monday spoke about his future as the captain and wicketkeeper of the national Test team. His revelations not only spoke about his own career but also dropped a hint on what may be in store for Australian cricket. Australia will be taking on Pakistan at the Gabba in the first Test to begin their home season on Thursday, November 21.

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"May be the last time I lead the side at home"

Paine, who is 34 at the moment, has had a tough rise to the national team because of injuries and tough competition. After captain Steve Smith got banned in 2018, Paine was made the new skipper of the Aussies and it can be safely said that he had led the team with aplomb out of a crisis situation. But with his age in question, cricketers tend to loose their magical touch and Paine spoke about this to a few reporters. He hinted that the 2019-20 home summer may be the last time that he is leading the side at home as he is not too sure about what the future holds for him.

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Paine added how he is enjoying his current role and hopes to sustain it as long as he scores enough runs and keeps well. In the interview, Paine also added that the goal of the Australian team was to regain their ranking as the number one Test side in the world and win the ICC World Test Championship.

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Who will lead the Aussies?

Paine's revelation could well mean that a major contender for Australia's Test captaincy is their former captain Steve Smith. After Smith's ban in 2018, it was highly speculated whether or not Smith would ever captain the Aussies again. He made a tremendous return to Tests when he scored 774 runs in the 2019 Ashes and helped Australia retain the urn. Former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting recently backed Smith getting another shot at captaincy after Paine's departure. Paine has also gone ahead and shown support for Steve Smith's return to the helm as well. Before his ban in 2018, Smith had led the Aussies since 2015 and had dominated the Test batting rankings. Under his captaincy, the Aussies have won 18 out of their 34 matches.

Another contender is vice-captain Pat Cummins, who was appointed as the vice-captain in the beginning of this year. Cummins is an integral part of the Australian team and is one of the team's most effective bowlers. He has been the leading wicket-taker of the last two Ashes series and could be a suitable captain for the Aussies as well.

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