BBL title-winning coach Adam Voges is confident Ashton Turner will thrive as Australia's next T20 captain if the 30-year-old is given the chance to lead his country.
Aaron Finch's retirement from international cricket on Tuesday has left Australia searching for a new skipper in the shortest form of the game.
With current Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins unlikely to want the extra burden, Finch nominated Travis Head, Steve Smith and Turner as the leading contenders to take over the T20 captaincy.
Turner played the last of his 18 T20 internationals in August 2021.
But his hot form in the BBL this season and his ability to lead the Perth Scorchers to back-to-back titles has thrust his name up in lights.
Voges, who coaches Turner at both WA and the Scorchers, says his star charge has all the traits needed to lead Australia.
"I think he's one of the best captains in the country," Voges said.
"Tactically he's very astute. He has that ability to think on his feet - something that you really need in T20 cricket.
"But he also has the ability to instil a great deal of confidence into his team and into his bowling group in particular.
"He's always well thought, well planned, and his ability to adapt on the run is really special."
Voges said Turner's reaction to his horror run-out during the BBL final last week was further proof of his leadership qualities.
Turner had cracked 53 off 32 balls to turn the match in Perth's favour, but he was stranded mid-pitch following a horror mix-up with Nick Hobson.
Instead of venting his fury, Turner gave Hobson a huge confidence boost.
The full-time accountant went on to score an unbeaten 18 off seven deliveries to help Perth secure the title.
"He turned to him (Hobson) and said, 'mate you're a gun, you've got this'," Voges said.
"So that leadership in that moment when he could rightfully be a bit annoyed - to instil that confidence into Nick Hobson after a pretty bad mix-up is the sort of leadership that we're starting to see from Ashton."
Although Turner averaged just 12 with the bat in his previous stint in the T20 national side, Voges feels he has matured immensely since then.
Voges also wants to see Turner back in the ODI side.
"I think his game is really well set up now. He's worked a lot on his power hitting and ability to finish games," Voges said.
"He's been able to do it multiple times and under pressure. You never see him flustered. He always looks calm.
"I'm sure there's a bit going on internally, but he's always got a very calm and cool exterior, and that rubs off on the rest of the team, and probably the coaching staff as well.
"I think he has all the attributes to be a really successful international captain."
