Cricket News: Steve Smith is back in form, David Warner wants leadership ban lifted

However, Finch's diminishing returns in the 50-over format saw him call it quits. And, given he is in his late 30s, there is no doubt he will call it quits from the T20I format sooner rather than later too. 

Thus, CA must develop a new list of leaders for the men's white ball teams. And while there are quite a few options present for the side, there is a school of thought that looking back might be Australia's best bet for looking forward. 

Steve Smith and David Warner, who have not held any leadership roles since the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, could be good options for the Australian team. 

While there were recently concerns over Smith's form, he scored a century in Finch's farewell match against New Zealand. 

That was his first century in quite a while in the 50-over format, but Smith would be such an appealing option because he has a wealth of experience in the role. 

It is also worth noting that Smith did step in for Australian Test captain Pat Cummins during the Adelaide Ashes Test when the latter was sidelined by COVID-19. 

Still, there remain doubts over Smith's T20I form – which brings us to Warner, whose form in both formats remains good. 

However, there is one small problem regarding Warner–CA being banned from taking a leadership role. 

This was part of the fallout from his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal, but there is a silver lining – Warner has requested the ban be revoked, and the board are reportedly at least considering it. 

Of course, that isn't to say other options are available for the side. They could well decide to make Pat Cummins captain across all formats. 

But Cummins has previously spoken about it being impractical to have a single captain across formats, although Finch believed Cummins could easily do the job if needed. 

There's also Alex Carey, who has himself stood in for Finch during a series against West Indies in 2021. He's also been a vice-captain in the ODI format in the past. 

That said, he isn't part of the scheme of things in the T20I format – at least not now. That would mean a situation wherein the national team has three captains across formats, or Carey is shoehorned into the T20I side despite not meriting a place in the squad. 

And this brings us right back to both Smith and Warner. Irrespective of the options in place, it does seem likely that going back to them would make the most sense. 

Is either of them the most long-term of options? No. But they would represent Australia's best options right now, and that's all that matters.