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Steve Smith Set To Replace Pat Cummins As Australia's Captain For Sri Lanka Tests

Pat Cummins and Steve Smith [Source: AP Photos]Pat Cummins and Steve Smith [Source: AP Photos]

Steve Smith will likely captain the Australian cricket team for its upcoming two-match Test tour of Sri Lanka in late-January. Regular skipper Pat Cummins is set to miss the entire tour over family commitments, as confirmed by Australia head coach Andrew McDonald back in November.

Both Smith and Cummins are currently facing a visiting Team India in a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test series. The matches against India as well as that from the impending Sri Lanka tour all constitute a part of the 2023-25 WTC cycle.

Steve Smith to return to captaincy?

As per a CODE Sports report, Steve Smith will likely resume his captaincy duties for the Australian cricket team in the absence of long-time teammate and legendary fast bowler Pat Cummins in Sri Lanka. As confirmed last November, Cummins will miss Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka as he and his wife Becky Boston will be expecting their second child around the same time frame.


Steve Smith previously led his national team on a regular basis until the 2018 ball-tampering scandal dramatically altered the hierarchy of Australian cricket. Smith did return to captaincy on an interim basis in December 2021 when Cummins was unavailable due to COVID-19. Moreover, the legendary Australian batter also led his team in the final two Tests of the four-match tour of India in early 2023.

Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka will commence with a series-opening first Test match from January 29 onwards at the Galle International Stadium. In a bid to secure a spot in the WTC 2025 finals, the current Championship holders need to win any one of the impending two fixtures in the island nation.

As of now, Australia is ranked second on the WTC 2023-25 points table with a PCT of 61.46. South Africa continues to remain on top of the standings as they recently became the first team to qualify for the finals.