Marnus Labuschagne puts his hand up to be Australia's next Test captain

Marnus Labuschagne has been an absolute superstar for Australia. The way his stocks have risen over the last couple of years, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to call him world class. Interestingly, there have been talks of making him the next Aussie captain in the longest format of the game.

Tim Paine is currently the Test skipper of Australia. However, it is highly unlikely that he is going to continue at the helm for too long. Neither does he have age on his side nor have his returns as a skipper been extraordinary.

The wicketkeeper has won 11 out of his 23 Tests as a captain, with a win percentage of less than 50 (47.82). Pat Cummins and Steve Smith are two other options to take up the mantle. Having said that, Paine will be leading Australia in the upcoming Ashes series which is all set to take place next month.

I would love to captain Australia, says Marnus Labuschagne

Marnus Labuschagne recently spoke about him being the next captain in an interview with News Corp. However, he did mention the fact that one doesn’t need a designation of a captain in order to perform the duties. “For me, absolutely, I would love to captain Australia.

‘Everyone would love that. But for me, it’s about making sure I put the team first and when you’re talking about being a leader, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need the title. You can be a leader without the title, and I think that’s the role I can play.” Marnus Labuschagne said. Thus, he felt that he can perform the duties of a leader without the title as well.

Although Australia’s number three batter made his Test debut in 2018, he sealed his spot only in 2019. After replacing Steve Smith as a concussion substitute, the batting maestro lever looked back since then. He has scored 1885 runs in 18 Tests at an average of 60.81. This includes 10 fifties and 5 hundreds.