Gardner and McGrath lead the fray to replace Healy as the next Australia skipper following Healy’s retirement.
Gardner and McGrath lead race to replace Healy as Australia captain.
In the upcoming weeks, Australia’s selectors will have to make a crucial choice regarding Alyssa Healy’s replacement as captain after she announced that she would retire following the series against India. Ashleigh Gardner and Tahlia McGrath are leading contenders.
The new captain will lead the T20Is against India next month before switching formats for the tour of the West Indies later in March. Healy is expected to stay captain for her final ODIs and the one-off Test against India. Healy made the T20 portion of her retirement immediate in order to prepare for the World Cup in England later this year.
Before the World Cup, where Australia will try to reclaim the championship they lost in the United Arab Emirates in 2024 when South Africa eliminated them in the semi-finals, whomever takes the position will only have six Twenty20 Internationals to leave their mark on the team.
For the selectors, it is an intriguing and crucial decision with a few extra complications. Since taking over as vice captain, McGrath has led Australia 15 times in both T20Is and ODIs. With the exception of the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final, she has won 14 of those games, including managing the Ashes’ retention during Healy’s absence from the T20Is last season.
But right now, McGrath is fighting to get back into shape. After taking on a new finisher role deeper down the order and enduring a difficult WBBL for Adelaide Strikers, she hasn’t scored more than 26 in her last six ODIs.
Gardner, who became the captain of the Sydney Sixers this season, might be ahead of McGrath. Gardner, who is well-known for her leadership abilities, has served as McGrath’s vice-captain for Australia while Healy has been sidelined due to injury. In the WPL, she is also the captain of the Gujarat Giants.
Gardner would be Australia’s first Indigenous captain for both the men’s and women’s national teams if she were hired.
With Healy’s retirement, Australia will have to fill three positions: wicketkeeper, batsman, and captain. Although Healy quipped that Beth Mooney was “such a reluctant keeper,” the latter two positions have likely been seen recently, with Georgia Voll now expected to become a regular opener and Mooney the wicketkeeper.
It is anticipated that the India series squad would be announced in early February.