Australian selector indicates Alex Carey will replace Tim Paine in the long run

Australian selector Trevor Hohns all but made it clear that Alex Carey will succeed Tim Paine in the long term. Paine's spot has come under the scanner after India humbled Australia in their backyard. But in a vote of confidence, the Australian skipper received backing from the selectors for the time being.

Nevertheless, they are keeping an eye on the long-term replacement for Tim Paine and Carey has seemingly emerged as the strongest contender. After picking the 19-man squad for the South Africa tour, Trevor Hohns indicated that they are grooming Carey to play in Tests for Australia.

"Alex Carey's been obviously on our radar for some time. “He's played limited-overs cricket for (Australia), and we thought that was the ideal pathway for him to get to Test match level. Alex over the last 12-18 months has got better and better as a player, so I think our thinking is reasonably clear there without actually rubber-stamping it if I can put it that way," said Trevor Hohns, as reported by cricket.com.au.

However, Hohns reaffirmed that Paine is still the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman and Carey has only been picked as a backup for the skipper.

"We won't be able to fly players in and out (of South Africa due to COVID-19), so we need to have all bases covered. Alex is there definitely as a back-up wicketkeeper (but) the current form he's in with the bat doesn't exclude him from possibly playing a role in the batting line-up if required," added Hohns.

CRUNCHED! Alex Carey is putting the foot down in Adelaide!Tune in on Fox, Seven or Kayo: https://t.co/RR1ocXoo0u #BBL10 pic.twitter.com/bjxJWWrpuR

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 21, 2021

Alex Carey is yet to represent his nation in the longest format of the game. In fact, this is the first time he has been picked in Australia's Test squad for a series.

Alex Carey looking to learn from Tim Paine

Alex Carey (L) and Tim Paine in a net session.

After his selection for the South Africa tour, Alex Carey talked about how he is looking to learn from the experience after his maiden Test call-up.

"Being a part of this series will give me lots of experience being around Test cricket – I haven't been in the changerooms for a Test match, so I'm really keen just to soak all that in … learn as much as possible, learn from Tim (Paine)."

Alex Carey shot into the limelight after his impressive performance in the 2019 World Cup where he scored 375 runs at an average of 62.50. It remains to be seen whether the left-handed batsman would get a chance to make his Test debut in Australia's upcoming tour of South Africa.

Thoughts on Australia's 19-man squad for the proposed Test tour of South Africa?Full story here: https://t.co/MlLIJBSH6I #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/EQEbV0hegE

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 27, 2021