Outgoing England head coach Trevor Bayliss has praised Ben Stokes' leadership skills but does not expect him to replace Joe Root as captain in the "foreseeable future".
England's failure to reclaim the Ashes has led to Root's position being discussed, particularly given his batting performances have been somewhat inconsistent.
Root has scored 325 runs at 32.50 in the 2019 Ashes series, a long way short of his Test average of 48.
"I can't see it in the foreseeable future," Bayliss told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme when asked if vice-captain Stoke could take over the England captaincy in the next 18 months.
"Having said that if Joe happened to have a broken finger or something, and Ben was to take over, then I wouldn't have any problems with that at all.
"He's a guy with plenty of leadership skills and the rest of the guys respect him.
"He's got a great cricket brain and has got some cricket nous."
Bayliss' four-year reign comes to an end after the Ashes, with his time in charge set to be remembered by a phenomenal improvement in white-ball cricket and this summer's World Cup win at Lord's.
Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler, has been heavily linked with the position.
"He (Gillespie) was one of the candidates when I got it. I'd be surprised if he wasn't one of the candidates this time," Bayliss said.
"It will be up to (England director of cricket) Ashley Giles. What style of a coach does he think the squad and the team need right now?
"Andrew Strauss employed me a few years ago and I'd like to think he got it right.
"Is it a different era now and different challenges ahead? That will be up to Ashley to work that out."
