Tim Paine believes current break could make him play for another '1-2 years'

Tim Paine seemed to be a forgotten name in Australian cricket before the Tasmanian wicket-keeper batsman was asked to return to the Test side in the 2017-18 home summer. He then proceeded to become the captain of the Australian side within months of his comeback after the infamous Newlands Test where captain Steve Smith and David Warner were ousted from the team. Paine, along with new coach Justin Langer, then became the face of the new Australian team, which regained the respect it had lost after the Sandpapergate incident.

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Tim Paine hopes to play on for another year or two due to coronavirus break

According to a report by cricket.com.au, Australia Test captain Tim Paine talked about his life during the lockdown on ABC Radio and looked at the coronavirus lockdown with a lot of positivity. Tim Paine explained that the rest that some players are getting due to the coronavirus lockdown may help them rejuvenate. "This rest may do a number of us the world of good. We can hopefully keep the Test team together that we've had over the last year and keep building on the momentum that we've got.", Paine was quoted as saying. This was obviously referring to the speculation around his future as the captain of the Australian Test side.

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Tim Paine is already 35 and a lot of experts were predicting that the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy may be Paine's last assignment as Australia captain. However, the Australian red ball skipper indirectly confirmed that he hopes to play on a litte longer. Talking about working with Tasmanian cricket, Paine indirectly confirmed his plans for his Test career. "I think I've got a fair bit to offer back here in Tas when my Test career ends in a year or two.", Paine was quoted saying by Cricket Australia.

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Pat Cummins to succeed Tim Paine as Australia Test captain?

In March, Steve Smith's ban from leadership roles got over and multiple experts predicted Smith getting back his job as the captain of the Australia team. Some experts even opined that Test vice-captain Pat Cummins must become the new captain of Australia instead of Smith. However, for now, nothing has been confirmed and Tim Paine will remain the captain of the Australian Test side. Paine's efforts have gained him a lot of respect and he even led the team to retaining the Ashes on English soil for the first time since 2001 courtesy their 2-2 drawn series in 2019.

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