Australian Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has given no hints around any desire to lead the side in all formats as the T20 World Cup comes around again next year.
The fast bowler was part of the side that won the title in 2021 with Aaron Finch as captain.
Recently, Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade have held the captaincy role but Cummins wasn’t definitive on whether he’d like to lead the side at the 2024 event.
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“Honestly don’t know, we’ll chat about it, Mitchy’s done the last T20 series’ and done a fantastic job,” he said in front of a large media pack at the SCG after returning home with the ODI trophy.
Cummins was more certain around his future as ODI captain as he stood with Mitchell Starc in front of the World Cup trophy, but didn’t place certainty on his position.
“Yeah I think so, honestly I haven’t thought too much about it but we’ll work through it,” he said.
Currently, the Australian side is playing a five-match T20I series against India in India, which started only days after the World Cup final.
Cummins held no jealousy to seeing the likes of Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell back up after winning the trophy.
“No I don’t (begrudge them), it’s been a busy few months,” he said.
“They’re still games for Australia and I think these tours do provide opportunities for the younger guys that might not be in the first XI. I think they’re still important tours where you’re going to get a lot out of but they’re humans, they’re not robots. Putting everything into a World Cup and then playing a few days later, I probably don’t begrudge them.”
With the ODI victory, Australia now holds the title in two formats with the World Test Championship as well.
After winning the T20 World Cup in 2021, Australia then attempted to defend it only months later on home soil but England reigned supreme.
The sense of achievement wasn’t lost on Starc who has now won two ODI World Cups, a T20 World Cup and Test Championship.
“It’s pretty special, to win one World Cup is hugely successful and rewarding for a few of us to have done it twice, likewise for those guys who are part of the squad and won two one-day World Cups and a T20 World Cup, and a couple of others have won a Test match (championship) as well,” he said.
“It’s not lost on us how grateful we are to have those opportunities but to have that success as a team and a group, players and staff along those journeys, is not lost on our group, particularly inside those three walls. They’re very special moments.”
Cummins added the success proves how strong the depth is in Australian cricket.
“We just missed out last year (on winning all three formats), six months off, to hold one trophy takes a lot but to hold trophies across different formats really shows (the strength of the) coaching group but also a squad of players, you can’t just do that with 11 blokes, you need 25 really good players, I think it shows the strength of Australian cricket at the moment,” he said.
With two Test series’ against Pakistan and West Indies ahead, both men confirmed they intend to be part of the Indian Premier League after those matches, in preparation for the T20 World Cup.
With Steve Smith confirming his availability for the Sydney Sixers in the BBL, Starc wasn’t confident of him playing a part while Cummins ruled out any chance.