India vs Australia: Captaincy calls "ridiculous", says Cummins

Sydney, January 1: Australian pacer Pat Cummins on Tuesday called suggestions of him captaining the Test side "ridiculous" and instead backed skipper Tim Paine to lead the side for a long time.

The 25-year-old was Australia's top performer with both the ball and the bat in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. He was the top-scorer in the second innings (63) and also picked up nine wickets in the match. "I think it's pretty ridiculous at the moment," Cummins was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia's official website cricket.com.au.

Wicketkeeper Tim Paine was handed the job to lead Australia in the Test format after former captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were banned for a year owing to their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering incident in March last year.

"We've obviously got 'Painey' (Test skipper Tim Paine) at the moment who is doing a brilliant job and I think it's his for a long time now," Cummins said.

After facing defeat in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and trailing 1-2 in the four match series against India, Shane Warne had heaped praise on Cummins and predicted him to be the future captain. Cummins, who has been Australia's best fast bowler in the first three Tests against India with 14 wickets at an average of 20.07, gained five slots to reach a career-best third position.

He has also gained 13 slots to reach 91st place among batsmen with some useful runs down the order. "Thoughts out of Melbourne. The Boxing Day test should be a - D/N match next year. Pat Cummins is the all-rounder Australia are looking for and is a future Australia Captain. Also, It's not just the batting that needs serious attention, the bowling stats for 2018 aren't good," Warne had tweeted.

However, the all-rounder isn't too interested in the job and is concentrating on his efforts on the field. "I feel like I'm too busy in the game bowling and when I'm batting, putting all my effort into that. And when I'm not doing it I'm usually off with the fairies trying to recover. So, I don't think I would make a very good captain at the moment," he said.

Cummins had earlier missed the ODI series in England and the two Tests against Pakistan in the UAE owing to injuries. He backed fellow pacer Josh Hazlewood, who is also the co-vice captain, for the job. "I think someone like Josh Hazlewood at the moment has an enhanced role as vice-captain, he's always thinking about the game when he's out there fielding," Cummins said.

"When he's batting in the sheds he is always watching and thinking things through. Maybe it's different personalities, but I see no reason why a bowler can't be a captain."