Australian star all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has ruled himself out of contention to take over the ODI captaincy from Aaron Finch.
Finch recently retired from ODI cricket following twin series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand to kick off the summer after a horror run of form.
He recently suggested he wasn't regretting his decision either as he now turns his full attention to the T20 World Cup, but Australia are yet to appoint a replacement captain in the 50-over format.
Adding to the complexity of the call, it's likely that Finch may elect to retire from T20 cricket on the international stage after the World Cup, meaning it's likely Australia will need a new white ball captain, rather than just in the 50-over format.
That could almost certainly rule Pat Cummins out, given he has spoken openly around the challenges of a fast bowler captaining in all three formats.
Cummins did suggest if a strong vice-captain was appointed he would consider taking the captaincy role in all three formats of the game for Australia.
Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh and David Warner - who is currently still facing a leadership ban from Cricket Australia - have been flaoted as the other options alongside the less-fancied Alex Carey.
But Marsh told reporters on Tuesday that he hadn't even thought about it and was out of the race.
“Probably not to be honest. I think I'm out of the race, there you go,” Marsh told reporters.
“I know it sounds clichéd, but I really haven't thought about it. I have had to get the body right for this World Cup and the World Cup is such an exciting prospect for all of us that to worry about that sort of stuff is just not on my radar at the moment.
“Obviously I know Cricket Australia have decisions to make after this World Cup … but it's really not something I've thought about and I'm just enjoying my cricket.
“It's been an amazing two years considering where I came from to where I am now as a cricketer, and probably a person, but I don't need to worry about that stuff.”
Should Warner's ban fail to be overturned, it would now appear Smith is the front-runner to take over as the skipper in limited overs games, or at the very least, work in almost tandem with Cummins.
Australia's next ODI series will be against England following the T20 World Cup, however, with players likely to be rested ahead of a long stint of Test cricket and following the World Cup, an interim captain could be named, giving Cricket Australia - and Finch when it comes to the shortest format of the game - more time to come to a decision.
