Australian all-rounder Matt Short has declared he’s keen to captain the nation during the three-game T20I series against Pakistan this month.

Short is in the mix to step in for captain Mitchell Marsh, who is on paternity leave when the series gets underway on November 14 at the Gabba.

Test captain Pat Cummins will lead Australia’s ODI team in the preceding three-game series beginning on Monday at the MCG.

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With Travis Head also on paternity leave, Short, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa are among the contenders for the T20 captaincy.

Short was named captain of the Adelaide Strikers ahead of the last BBL season before rising to career-best form with the bat.

In his strongest season to date, the 28-year-old scored 541 runs at an average of 60 with a strike rate of 153 across 11 matches.

Speaking to media in Melbourne, Short expressed his eagerness to fill the captaincy vacancy.

“Yeah, definitely [I’m interested in the role],” he said.

“I’ve done it for a little bit now with Adelaide Strikers and really enjoyed being involved in making some of the calls.

“The communication [from selectors] at the moment is there’s a bit of a leadership [group] and they still haven’t made up their mind, but if it was me they wanted, I’ll definitely put my hand up for it.”

Despite having nine international matches under his belt, the Ballarat product is poised for his first opportunity to bat for Australia at the MCG.

Short will open the batting in Brisbane alongside Jake Fraser-McGurk but acknowledged there were no guarantees the batting order would remain the same for the remainder of the series.

Yet to make an appearance in the Test arena, Short admitted he had February’s tour of Sri Lanka in the back of his mind.

To bolster his chances of red-ball selection, Short plans to play a pair of Sheffield Shield matches before his BBL campaign gets underway at the end of December.

“I’m always looking for that Test cap, it’s always been something I’ve aspired to,” he said.

“I’ve had the question a few times recently.

“It’s been really hard trying to get back-to-back games, in Shield cricket especially,” Short said.

“Playing white-ball cricket for Australia, that’s probably been the priority for the last couple of years, but when the time comes to play Shield cricket, I’ll definitely give it my all. I’ll try to score runs and take wickets, and we’ll see what happens.

“I probably need a couple of Shield games under the belt just to see where I’m at and get those days under my legs and see how the body holds up.

“There’s a lot of cricket to be played before then.”

Short will come up against his former mentor, Jason Gillespie, who was parachuted in to guide Pakistan after the tourists’ white-ball coach Gary Kirsten quit suddenly on Monday.

“I just had a chat with Dizzy [Gillespie]. He’s obviously taken the reins for their side this series, and he’s coached me in Adelaide for quite a number of years now,” Short said.

“It’s a little bit [unnerving]. I’ve probably had him [as a coach] for six or seven years, and he’s probably a big reason why I’m here today, giving me the opportunity in Adelaide and even to open the batting.

“He’s seen plenty of me batting in the nets and games and I’m sure he’s going to hand that onto some of their bowlers.

“He knows me like the back of his hand, so he’s probably going to tell them all my tricks.

“We’ll see how we go.”