Australia captain Tim Paine on Monday said that the upcoming Test series against Pakistan and New Zealand could be his last time leading the team at home.
“It might be (my last summer), I’m not too sure,” Paine said to the reporters. “But… I’m enjoying doing it. I feel good physically (and) mentally. So while that continues, I’m scoring enough runs and keeping well enough then I’d like to continue. I know when you get to my age that can change really quickly. I’m really looking forward to this summer, beyond that I haven’t looked too far. I know what I want to do and what I want to achieve.”
“I think when you’re the Australian captain and the Australian keeper, they’re two of the most critiqued roles in Australian sport and at the moment I have to hold them both. I know I’m going to be in the crosshairs for people all the time,” he added.
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Tim Paine, 34, took over the responsibility of leading the team after former captain Steve Smith was handed a one-year ban last year for his role in the ball-tampering scandal. However, he said Australia’s top priority is to reclaim the top spot in ICC Test rankings where India is currently placed with 300 points and win the World Test Championship (WTC) as well. Australia are right now placed fifth in the points table.
“Our goal is to get back to that number one ranking and we want to win that Test Championship,” he shared. “To do that we’re going to have to be good enough to win in India and we’re going to have to be good enough to beat everyone, everywhere. “It’s the only way we’re going to get to where we want to get to. It’s an exciting period and I’m looking forward to being part of the start of that and there is no end point at the moment.”