Australia completed their series sweep thanks to a David Warner century and another five-for from Nathan Lyon, as they sealed a resounding 279-run win in the third Test in Sydney.
Warner's unbeaten 111 led Australia to 217-2, Tim Paine declaring with a 415-run lead, and a comprehensive win was secured as the Black Caps were skittled for 136.
Labuschagne, who scored 215 runs in the first innings and hit 59 in the second, finished with 549 runs for the three-match series.
"It's been an amazing summer," he said at the post-match presentation where he was given the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series awards.
"It's so special to share these moments with your family, who have been part of your journey. It's hard to put [the success] on one thing, but my level of concentration and not doing any silly things.
"A lot of gum but it's working, so why change. I just love the journey and it's been wonderful being part of this Australian team."
Labuschagne, along with Steve Smith and Warner, won praise from Paine, who says he is honoured to captain an Australia side ranked second in the ICC World Test Championship, while adding he hopes success on the pitch provides the nation with some enjoyment amid the ongoing bushfire crisis.
"I am very lucky to captain this group," the captain said. "Batting has become very consistent with Marnus leading this year and Steve and David back.
"It's a pretty simple task for me at times, to be honest. I think we can still get better, there were moments in this series as well when we were not at our best.
"We are really pleased with the progress we have made in the last 12 months but we know have some big series coming up.
"It hasn't been a great few weeks for our country. Our goal as a team is to give the Australians some entertainment. But our thoughts go out to them and firefighters are doing a great job."
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, meanwhile, acknowledged, his side must learn from their humbling defeat.
"Credit to the Australian team," Williamson said. "They were clinical but they put us under pressure session after session. There's so much to learn from this experience.
"We have a bit of time off, so a bit of regrouping. We were outplayed in all departments. There are number of things to work on and improve upon.
"For a number of guys, it's the first time here and you must appreciate it because you won't get this experience anywhere else."
India had resumed on 233-6 but their tail did not last too long in the opening session, the final four wickets going down for 11 runs as they were all out for 244.
However, the tourists hit back impressively with the ball, dismissing Australia for 191 despite a battling knock of 73 not out from home captain Tim Paine.
Needing to bat a short period under the floodlights prior to stumps, opener Prithvi Shaw fell to Pat Cummins for four as the tourists ended on 9-1, Mayank Agarwal not out on five with nightwatchman Jasprit Bumrah yet to get off the mark.
With a lead of 62 runs, India holds the upper hand. Still, their advantage should be even greater in the series opener, having seen a number of opportunities go begging in the field.
Virat Kohli's side lost two wickets in as many overs to start proceedings on Friday, Ravichandran Ashwin (15) and Wriddhiman Saha (9) departing early to Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc respectively.
The same bowlers claimed a further wicket apiece to wrap up the innings, Starc ending with figures of 4-53 as he equalled Richie Benaud's career tally of 248 for Australia. Cummins, meanwhile, finished with 3-48.
Australia's reply saw new opening pair Joe Burns and Matthew Wade fall cheaply – both to Bumrah – while Steve Smith managed just a single from 29 balls before he was dismissed by Ashwin.
Travis Head and debutant Cameron Green also fell to the spinner to leave the score at 79-5, though India's failure to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne on no less than four occasions allowed the right-hander to make a welcome 47.
Yet it was Paine who caused the most problems for the visiting attack, the wicketkeeper-batsman also dropped as he made the third-highest score of his Test career, hitting 10 boundaries in a 99-ball knock that saw him run out of support in the end.
Starc's run out for 15 did not help the cause - he was short when attempting a risky second - before Nathan Lyon became the fourth wicket for the impressive Ashwin (4-55).
Umesh Yadav (3-40) had Josh Hazlewood caught to wrap up the innings and, while Shaw failed to survive a difficult short session before stumps, India will be pleased with their overall position.
India managed to lose just three wickets as they secured a draw on a dramatic final day in Sydney, leaving the series delicately poised at 1-1 with the one game to play.
Australia missed chances in the field and wicketkeeper Paine, who dropped three catches behind the stumps, became involved in a verbal exchange with India's Ravichandran Ashwin that was caught on the stump microphone.
However, he was punished by the International Cricket Council for an incident that happened on the third day, having questioned a decision to umpire Paul Wilson.
Paine - who was fined 15 per cent of his match fee, as well as having one demerit point added to his disciplinary record - admitted the offence, making clear in his post-match press conference that he did not mean to be disrespectful to Wilson.
"We all know that the stump microphones are part of the broadcast. It's great to bring the viewers that close, [for them] to be able to hear it," he told the media.
"I probably set a pretty poor example with my use of language. I'm certainly disappointed with myself after I heard that.
"We know we've got to be careful. I've known and had Paul umpiring me for some time, I certainly didn't mean to be disrespectful to him. It was just a heat-of-the-moment audible obscenity, I think that's what I've been done for.
"I need to be better than that. I know that the stump mics are on and I know it's part of the game.
"There are lots of kids watching the Australia Test team - I need to set a better example than that."
Paine's frustration came after a not out decision by on-field umpire Wilson following appeals for a catch at short leg, with the call not being overturned following the use of the DRS.
Addressing the incident again later in his media duties, he said: "I think we do want to take the game as close to the fans and spectators as we can. At times, when the stump mics are on, that's going to happen.
"We try our best but we are not perfect. If the worst thing we have done is let the odd f-bomb go, then I think we're doing okay."
Australia and India now move on to Brisbane for the series decider, with the fourth Test going ahead after the Board of Control for Cricket in India received assurances over quarantine restrictions amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A pinched nerve in his neck had caused problems in pre-season with Tasmania and the wicket-keeper has chosen to undertake surgery in Hobart on Tuesday.
The first Ashes Test starts in December in Brisbane, but Paine is estimated to be back to light training by the end of September, resume full training the following month and complete his recovery by the start of November.
"The consensus of the spinal surgeon and the CA medical team was to have the surgery now which will allow plenty of time to fully prepare for the summer," Paine said in a statement released by Cricket Australia.
"I expect to be able to restart physical activity by the end of this month and be back in full training in October.
"I will be ready to go by the first Test and am very much looking forward to what will be a huge summer."
Paine, whose finger injuries almost forced him into an early retirement in 2016, averages just 28.61 against England – making just two 50s in 16 innings – but has lifted the urn twice.
The 36-year-old was a part of the side that thrashed England 4-0 in the home 2017-18 series before a 2-2 away draw in 2019 saw his side retain The Ashes.
Australia have only played four Tests in the last 18 months but Paine also gave his backing to cancel November's Test against Afghanistan due to the Taliban's stance that women will not play cricket during their ruling.
Following Cricket Australia stating there was "no alternative" but to cancel the maiden Test, Paine added to SEN Radio last week: "I don't think we want to be associated with countries that are taking opportunities or things off literally half their population."
Wicketkeeper Paine shelled three catches as Australia toiled on the final day, with India batting out to a draw in relative comfort as the teams shook hands with the score 334-5 in the fourth innings at the SCG on Monday.
Ravichandran Ashwin finished unbeaten on 39 and was involved in spiteful verbal battle with Paine, which concluded with the gloveman calling him a "d*******".
Australia's conduct as their victory hopes slipped away has come under scrutiny after footage appeared to show former skipper Steve Smith trying to scrub out Rishabh Pant's guard marks on the crease during a thrilling counter-attacking innings of 97 in Sydney.
Having acknowledged his failings after the match, along with being fined 15 per cent of his match fee for showing dissent to umpire Paul Wilson on day three, Smith's successor Paine felt the need to address the media again on Tuesday as his conduct remained a talking point.
"I want to apologise for the way I went about things. I'm someone who prides themselves on the way I lead this team and yesterday was a poor reflection of the team," Paine said.
"I let the pressure of the game get to me. It affected my mood and from there, it affected my performance.
"Initially I reflected purely on my wicketkeeping. Last night I reflected on the whole game.
"I've had a really poor game as a leader. I'm a captain who wants to enjoy the game and wants to play the game with a smile on their face. I fell short of my expectations and our team's standards.
"I'm human. I want to apologise for the mistakes I made. It's certainly not a reflection of the way I want to lead this team. We've set high standards over the last few months and yesterday was a blip on the radar and something that I felt that I needed to come out and address.
"I feel that my mood throughout probably the whole Test match was a bit off. The way I spoke to the umpires early on day two was also unacceptable.
"I've got to cop that on the chin. It's not the way I want to lead this Australian team. It's certainly not a reflection of how I want to do it going forward.
"I apologise to our fans and people who heard some of the things I said, it wasn't good enough and particularly from the leader of this team."
The series is level at 1-1 heading into this week's decider at the Gabba in Brisbane, starting Friday.
"I'm really looking forward to getting to Brisbane and bouncing back and playing the game more like Tim Paine plays the game," Paine added. "Yesterday was a poor reflection of that and not something I want to be known for."
India face a host of fitness issues ahead of the quick turnaround in Brisbane.
Ravindra Jadeja is out with a broken thumb, while Pant (arm), Ashwin (back), Cheteshwar Pujara (finger) and Hanuma Vihari (hamstring) must all be assessed, with the latter a major doubt.
Only 54.2 overs were bowled at the Gabba on Saturday as India reached 62-2 in response to Australia's first-innings 369.
Heavy rain delayed the start of the final session before a wet outfield meant play was abandoned.
Tim Paine scored a half-century for Australia as T Natarajan (3-78), Washington Sundar (3-89) and Shardul Thakur (3-94) took three wickets each for India.
Rohit Sharma (44) wasted his start as he tried to attack Nathan Lyon (1-10) after Pat Cummins (1-22) had Shubman Gill (7) caught at second slip by Steve Smith.
Cheteshwar Pujara (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (2) were unbeaten when stumps were called, with India 307 runs adrift in the final Test of a series that is locked at 1-1.
Injury-hit India continued to fight and they only need a draw to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia, though, will also lament some of their batting that could have put India under more pressure.
Starts squandered as tail wags for Australia
Marnus Labuschagne made a century on Friday, but four other batsmen made more than 36 but failed to go on for Australia.
Paine (50) and Cameron Green (47) joined that group on day two as they squandered promising starts, with Lyon (24) – playing his 100th Test – and Mitchell Starc (20 not out) lifting Australia beyond 350.
Reckless Rohit hurts India
Like many in the Australia line-up, Rohit wasted another opportunity to put together a big score in Brisbane.
He looked in control before attempting to take on Lyon one too many times, and a running Starc took a good catch. The 33-year-old is one of India's more experienced players and his dismissal left the tourists at 60-2. It comes after he made scores of 26 and 52 in Sydney.
Cricket Australia (CA) on Thursday announced Carey will replace former captain Tim Paine as wicketkeeper in the team for the first two Tests, starting December 8 at the Gabba.
Debutant Carey will be behind the stumps after Paine – who stood down as skipper having been embroiled in a sexting scandal – took a leave of absence from all forms of cricket for the "foreseeable future".
"I am incredibly humbled by this opportunity. It’s an exciting build-up for what is a huge series ahead," Carey – Australia's one-day international wicketkeeper – said in a statement
"My focus is on preparing and playing my part in helping Australia secure the Ashes.
"This is also for my dad who has been my coach, mentor and mate, my mum, my wife Eloise, kids Louis and Clementine, my brother and sister and all of those who have supported me. I will be doing my absolute best to make them and our country proud."
Carey has averaged just 21.85 runs over eight innings with the bat in the Sheffield Shield, though the left-hander has been a consistent performer over the years.
The South Australia star has averaged 59.64, scoring four centuries in nine matches.
Paine stepped down from his Test captaincy role last Friday over a historical investigation into lewd texts sent to a former Cricket Tasmania colleague in 2017.
The 36-year-old, who at the time was found not to have breached Cricket Australia's conduct code and remained captain, is still in Australia's Ashes squad to face England, though a new leader is yet to be announced.
Batter Marcus Harris previously stated Paine has "got all the support of the players" and Lyon has echoed that sentiment towards the wicketkeeper, who was appointed captain in 2018 following Steve Smith's ball-tampering scandal ban.
"I can 100 per cent guarantee he has the full support of the Australian changeroom," Lyon told reporters as Australia prepare for the first Ashes Test on December 8.
"I don't see him as a distraction at all. Come the Gabba Test match and throughout the whole series, we are professional sportspeople, and we will go out and do our job.
"Tim made a mistake, he's owned it, for me that shows great courage to be honest. Tim has got my full support. I am looking forward to catching up as soon as we get out of quarantine.
"In my eyes, Tim is the best gloveman in the country, in the world.
"The selectors said they were going to pick the best available XI and in my eyes Tim Paine is the best keeper in the world. I want him. This is very selfish, from a bowler's point of view, I want the best gloveman behind the stumps."
Off-spinner Lyon and wicketkeeper Paine have formed a strong partnership for Australia but failed to combine for a single wicket against India in the Test series loss last time out.
Since then, Paine has undergone neck surgery in September before returning to action for Tasmania's second XI against South Australia.
Pat Cummins and Steve Smith have reportedly been interviewed by Cricket Australia amid ongoing speculation the pair will step in as captain and vice-captain respectively, much to Lyon's excitement.
"You have a bowler's mindset and a batter's mindset rather than two batters; they can come together and really come up with some good guidance," Lyon said. "I am excited by the fact we are potentially going to have a bowler as captain."
Australia will head to the Gabba with added confidence as well after their T20 World Cup win in the United Arab Emirates, and Lyon claimed there is still a buzz around the camp despite Paine's resignation.
"The mood is incredible," he said. "On the back of the boys winning the World Cup, there are only nine guys here who were part of that, but the staff too, there is an unbelievable feeling in the Australian cricket changerooms right now.
"Our preparation is flying along. I'm ready to go."
Smith was at his best with the bat in the match, making scores of 131 and 81 as he returned to form in style after a recent lean spell.
However, it may well be his footwork during Monday's final day will overshadow what he achieved during the rest of the Test.
With India battling to save the game, stump camera footage seen on social media showed Smith standing at the crease during a break in proceedings, the Australian shaping up as if he was batting, including marking a guard.
His actions at the crease forced India's Rishabh Pant to retake his own guard before play resumed, with the moment becoming a hot topic on Twitter.
"Tried all tricks including Steve Smith trying to remove Pant's batting guard marks from the crease," former India batsman Virender Sehwag wrote to accompany the footage that was seen on the international feed of the broadcast.
Retweeting Sehwag's post, ex-England captain Michael Vaughan added: "This is very very poor from Steve Smith!!". Meanwhile, David Lloyd, who played and coached England before becoming a television commentator, wrote: "How childish".
Pant did not seem too perturbed by what happened, however, going on to make 97 as India impressively secured a draw.
Smith was sacked as Australia captain following the ball-tampering scandal during the tour of South Africa in 2018. Along with team-mate David Warner, he was banned for 12 months from international and domestic cricket for his involvement in the incident.
Cameron Bancroft, who was the player caught by television cameras appearing to use sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during the third Test against the Proteas at Newlands, was handed a nine-month suspension.
Tim Paine, who took over as skipper of the Test side, was also trending on social media after a verbal exchange with India's Ravichandran Ashwin during the final session of play at the SCG.
Ashwin pulled away before a delivery as he and Paine shared words, their conversation picked up by the stump microphone.
England paceman Stuart Broad pointed out on Twitter that such situations are "part of the game" during a Test match, though did suggest Paine's use of an expletive could land him in trouble.
The wicketkeeper was indeed fined after the game, though lost 15 per cent of his match fee as punishment for dissent after questioning an umpiring decision during day three of the match.
Ashwin ended up unbeaten on 39 to help India survive and remain level at 1-1 in the series ahead of the final game in Brisbane.
COVID-19 has brought sport to a standstill, with cricket on hiatus due to the global health emergency, which has claimed more than 37,800 lives.
Attempting to stay fit amid the shutdown, Paine relocated his car onto the street and transformed his garage into a home gym in Hobart, where the wicketkeeper was robbed.
"I woke up this morning to a message from NAB saying I had some interesting movements on my account," Paine told reporters on Tuesday.
"I went out and the [car] door was open and my wallet and a few other things had gone.
"Actually looking at my account, the boys went straight to Maccas [McDonalds] – the boys must have been hungry."
"Since that went on radio, I've had a message from [sponsor] Kookaburra and they're going to send me some balls on a string that I can hook up in the garage and start training," added Paine.
While happy at home, Paine said: "Steve Smith, David Warner – guys like that, they're high energy, they love to train so this would be a real eye opener for them.
"I think [Smith] is doing a 10km run every day so hopefully he doesn't come back as a skeleton. But him and Marnus [Labuschagne] and Davey are probably the three I worry about.
"They don't like sitting still, and Steve and Marnus don't like not batting for too long. And Davey – he literally can't sit still.
"Davey has got a home gym so he will be in there literally 24/7 and Steve and Marnus would have some kind of contraption where they're hitting balls, or they've got their wives are feeding them balls because there's no way those two are going a week without batting."
Paine also conceded June's two-Test tour of Bangladesh is unlikely to go ahead as scheduled due to coronavirus.
The first Test is set to start on June 11 and Paine said: "You don't have to be Einstein to realise it is probably unlikely to go ahead, particularly in June. Whether it's cancelled or pushed back, we're not quite sure at the moment."
Cricket Australia (CA) will stand down the majority of its staff on reduced pay from April 27 until the end of the financial year amid the COVID-19 crisis.
CA is also in negotiations with the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) over player salaries.
With such uncertainty over when they will next take to the field at international level, Test captain Paine knows the players must look at the bigger picture.
"Players need to know the absolute financial positions of the game and the players aren't going to be greedy," he told ABC Radio.
"Our livelihood, all the people associated with the ACA and the players' association, their livelihood is dependent on the game of cricket being healthy.
"So at the moment if a pay cut for us is on the cards and that keeps our game thriving well into the future, then that’s something we'll certainly have to look at."
Paine was not surprised when he learned of CA's financial situation, though.
He added: "I think commercially a lot of sponsors have been pretty hard hit and it's obviously going to hit Cricket Australia at some stage then as well.
"I think there's a bit of safeguarding towards the potential of India not coming [for a tour starting in October] which is worth something like 250 to 300million [Australian] dollars."
Paine stood down the Australian Test captaincy on Friday having been embroiled in a lewd text message scandal from 2017, which was investigated by CA and Cricket Tasmania in 2018.
At the time, Paine was found not to have breached CA's Code of Conduct and remained in the role as Test captain, having taken up the position earlier that year following Steve Smith's demotion in light of the sandpaper scandal.
CA chair Richard Freudenstein and CEO Nick Hockley addressed the media on Saturday and stressed they were not in their current positions at the time of the investigation, thus were not across the rationale behind the decisions made but said with hindsight they were a mistake.
"Neither of us, Nick Hockley or myself, can speak directly to the decision-making process in 2018," Freudenstein said.
"This includes being able to provide any further insights around how the original judgement was made, that Tim’s behaviour did not breach the code of conduct and that it did not warrant any further disciplinary action.
"Once again, while I cannot speak about the original decision-making in 2018, what I can say is that faced with the same circumstances, and with the benefit of all relevant information about this matter, Cricket Australia would not make the same decisions today.
"I acknowledge that the decision clearly sent the wrong message to the sport, to the community and to Tim – that this kind of behaviour is acceptable and without serious consequences.
"The role of Australia Captain must be held to the highest standards."
At the time of the investigation, David Peever was CA chair and James Sutherland was the organisation's CEO.
Freudenstein added: "A decision was made in 2018 and that decision was final. The details weren't known to anyone who've been on the board since that stage."
Paine follows Smith in being forced to step down from the captaincy in controversial circumstances and Hockley added that highest standards would be expected of the next skipper, expected to be Pat Cummins.
"Going forward I think it's incumbent on everybody to have the highest standards to represent Australia and particularly in a leadership position," Hockley said.
Paine was on Saturday due to play his first game of competitive cricket since neck surgery in September for University of Tasmania against South Hobart-Sandy Bay in Tasmanian club cricket but the day's play was called off due to rain.
Paine assumed the role of Test captain after the 2018 ball-tampering scandal during Australia's tour of South Africa, where then-captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and young batsman Cameron Bancroft were all handed significant bans for their role in using sandpaper to roughen one side of the ball.
However, in his new autobiography, he claims that in the very next Test match of that same series, it was the South Africans who were shown on the big screen appearing to intentionally scuff the ball in an illegal fashion.
"I was standing at the bowlers' end in the next Test when a shot came up on the screen of a South African player at mid-off having a huge crack at the ball," he claims.
"We went to the umpires about it, which might seem a bit poor, but we'd been slaughtered and were convinced they'd been up to it since the first Test. But the footage got lost. As it would."
In response, CSA said Paine's allegation "could have been useful had it come out at the time, when the rot in the game was being rooted out".
It added: "CSA and Cricket Australia (CA) have engaged on this matter and the necessary sanctions levied at the time. Both bodies have reiterated their commitment to a clean game, pampered with excellence, grit and above reproach.
"While CSA respects the rights of individuals to air their opinions, it also calls upon all those who love the game to come forward with any information of misconduct on the field at the appropriate time and not wait for time to elapse.
"This will assist the relevant authorities within the system to investigate and appropriate relevant sanctions should they be required."
The 36-year-old stood down from the Australian Test captaincy having been embroiled in a lewd text message scandal from 2017, which was investigated by Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket Tasmania the following year.
At the time, Paine was found not to have breached CA's code of conduct and remained as Test captain, having taken up the position in 2018 following Steve Smith's demotion in light of the sandpaper ball-tampering scandal.
An emotional Paine made his resignation announcement on Friday after learning the messages were to be revealed publicly, and Tasmania chairman Andrew Gaggin has questioned his treatment. Paine plays domestic cricket for Tasmania.
"The treatment afforded to the Australian Test captain by Cricket Australia has been appalling," Gaggin said. "It is clear that the anger amongst the Tasmania cricket community and general public is palpable.
"At a time when Cricket Australia should have supported Tim, he was evidently regarded as dispensable. The treatment is the worst since Bill Lawry over 50 years ago."
Lawry, who was sacked as captain ahead of the final Test of the 1970-71 Ashes series, found out about it through the media.
Cricket Australia chair Richard Freudenstein and CEO Nick Hockley addressed media on Saturday and stressed they were not in their current positions at the time of the initial investigation, thus were not across the rationale behind the decisions made.
Freudenstein said: "While I cannot speak about the original decision-making in 2018, what I can say is that faced with the same circumstances, and with the benefit of all relevant information about this matter, Cricket Australia would not make the same decisions today.
"I acknowledge that the decision clearly sent the wrong message to the sport, to the community and to Tim – that this kind of behaviour is acceptable and without serious consequences. The role of Australia captain must be held to the highest standards."
At the time of the investigation, David Peever was CA chair and James Sutherland was the organisation's CEO.
Freudenstein added: "A decision was made in 2018 and that decision was final. The details weren't known to anyone who've been on the board since that stage."
Paine sensationally resigned in shame on Friday and was reduced to tears as he apologised for being embroiled in a sexting scandal.
The wicketkeeper, who is married with two children, revealed the decision was based on an explicit text exchange with a female former Cricket Tasmania colleague in 2017.
Vice-captain Cummins is expected to take over from Paine, who will still be available for selection to face England.
Former Australia skipper Waugh endorsed paceman Cummins to step up.
"Pat Cummins is definitely the front-runner to lead the side in Brisbane for the first Test, he's the vice-captain and there is a lot of talk of him taking over Tim Paine sooner or later even without this incident. So, I think he is the logical choice," Waugh told WA Today.
"For the vice-captain, I don't know, someone like a Steve Smith might be a good vice-captain, he's experienced."
Mark Taylor is another ex-Australia captain to back Cummins for the role three years after Smith's reign as skipper ended due to the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.
"I think CA [Cricket Australia] will probably want to go for someone fresh and clean. The timing will make it a more comfortable decision for CA to make Pat the captain," Taylor told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
"It will be hard to go back after another controversy to Steve. I know Pat very well, he's a terrific fella. I think it is harder for a quick bowler to be captain. In terms of leadership he will be very good because he’s a good, solid human being."
Australia batter Travis Head thinks Cummins would be a good appointment.
"Obviously Pat’s been well spoken about, named as vice-captain, it's hard to go past him, or give him the opportunity to," he said.
"He's someone who oozes leadership, not only in the way he presents himself and speaks and the way he goes about things and the way he trains, but also when he's on the field."
Cummins is the first fast bowler to captain Australia's men's Test team on a full-time basis after Tim Paine sensationally stood down last week, having been embroiled in a sexting scandal.
Paine had taken over as Australia skipper from Steve Smith in the wake of the sandpaper scandal during the South Africa Test tour in 2018 but he is now set to miss the Ashes altogether after taking a leave of absence from all forms of cricket for the foreseeable future".
The top-ranked bowler in Test cricket, Cummins will have Smith as his vice-captain as Australia turn their attention to the December 8 Ashes opener in Brisbane.
"I am honoured to accept this role ahead of what will be a massive Ashes summer," Cummins said in a statement on Friday.
"I hope I can provide the same leadership Tim [Paine] has given the group in the past few years.
"With Steve and I as captains, a number of very senior players in this squad and some great young talent coming through we are a strong and tightly knit group.
"This is an unexpected privilege which I am very grateful for and am very much looking forward to."
Australia star Smith returns to the leadership group after he served a two-year ban from holding any leadership role in Australian cricket following the ball-tampering saga three years ago.
Smith was hit with a 12-month suspension for his role in the scandal.
"I am pleased to return to the leadership of the team and look forward to helping and assisting Pat in any way I can," Smith said in a statement as Australia prepare to host England, starting at the Gabba next month.
"Pat and I have played together for a long time, so we know our respective styles well.
"We are also great friends, as is the whole group. As a team, we want to play good, positive cricket and also really enjoy each other's company.
"There are exciting times ahead as we focus on the Ashes and beyond."
England captain Joe Root and his deputy Jos Buttler are among the players who stated they were not ready to commit to the five-match series due to uncertainty over coronavirus restrictions.
Bubble fatigue and quarantine periods for the players' families are issues that have been raised, leading to doubts over whether the five-match Test series – due to start at The Gabba on December 8 – will go ahead.
The ECB on Friday confirmed England will tour Australia, providing "several critical conditions" are met before they board the plane.
"Over recent weeks we have made excellent progress in moving forward on the England men's Ashes Tour," an ECB statement said.
"To facilitate further progress and allow a squad to be selected, The ECB Board has met today and given its approval for the tour to go ahead.
"This decision is subject to several critical conditions being met before we travel.
"We look forward to the ongoing assistance from Cricket Australia in resolving these matters in the coming days."
Australia captain Tim Paine earlier stated he expects England to bring a "really strong" side to Australia, with only "one or two" players opting out of the tour.
"I'm hearing a lot of their players will commit," the wicketkeeper told SEN Radio.
"There might be one or two that don't, but I think we'll see a really strong England side come out here."
Australia's prime minister Scott Morrison last month warned England will not benefit from any "special deals" regarding quarantine rules when they arrive in the country.
Paine says he has spoken to the prime minister as Australia wait for confirmation that England will make the long journey to try to regain the urn.
"He was keen to find out what the sticking points might be from a player's perspective," said Paine of his conversations with Morrison.
"I shared a few text messages with him. He loves his cricket."
Paine stepped down as Australia skipper in November - just 19 days before the Ashes series started - after he was embroiled in a sexting scandal.
The 37-year-old took a break from the game "for the foreseeable future" and has kept a low profile since his reign as captain of his country came to an end.
Paine has showed no signs of getting back in the middle, but the wicketkeeper has been passing on his experience with the Tasmanian Tigers.
Tasmania interim head coach Ali de Winter told reporters on Tuesday: "It's been a nice little distraction for him, I guess, to spend some time with us.
"He's been great with our young players stepping in [but] where he stands with his playing of cricket, I don't think he's really thought that far ahead.
"He's still doing his own physical training; he's not doing any batting or wicketkeeping at the moment, but he's certainly present around the group.
"I think he's just enjoying the re-entry into our group and just focusing on family life."
Australia thrashed England 4-0 to retain the Ashes after Pat Cummins replaced Paine as captain.
Paine came under fire during Australia's 2-1 Test series loss to India, with the skipper apologising for his behaviour during the Sydney Test.
Amid questions over the 36-year-old's future, Paine retained the captaincy as Australia's Test squad for their tour of South Africa was named on Wednesday.
Hohns said there was no doubt over the wicketkeeper's leadership, hitting out at what he feels has been unfair criticism.
"Tim's leadership in our mind was never in question. We did not spend one minute on Tim's leadership during our selection meeting," he told a news conference.
"He's been a terrific leader of this Australian team through some pretty trying circumstances since he's been in the top position. And I must say too, if you don't mind, some of the criticism he's had to endure in our view has been pretty wide of the mark, in particular some of it has been in poor taste from overseas people.
"I think the criticism of Tim Paine has been totally unfair."
Star Australia paceman Pat Cummins, 27, has been touted as a possible future captain.
Hohns said it was important for Australia to have options going forward.
"Of course, we're always looking for leaders and when the opportunity arises to possibly give somebody some experience," he said.
"Over the last week or two, there has been various names thrown up and let's face it, we've got to canvas all of those options and try to come up with a leader or a group of leaders, which is what we've tried to do over the last couple of years, who can take Australian cricket forward."
Paine required seven operations after breaking his finger back in 2010, but earned an Australia recall seven years later and took over as skipper in 2018.
The 35-year-old was on the verge of quitting when he was out of the Tasmania team in 2017.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Paine has opened up on the struggles he has endured over the years and the doubts he had when he returned to the highest level.
He told the Bounce Back podcast: "When I started training and playing again I wasn't too bad, until I started to face guys who bowled a lot quicker.
"And they'd be running in and instead of thinking about hitting the ball, I was thinking: 'Geez I hope he doesn't hit me on the finger'.
"From there it was just a downward spiral. I lost absolutely all confidence. I didn't tell anyone about it. The truth is, one, I was scared of getting hit and two, I just didn’t know what I was going to do."
Paine revealed he did not let it be known he was struggling.
“I didn't sleep, I didn't eat. I was so nervous before games, I was horrible to live with," he added.
"I was pretty ordinary to my partner, who is now my wife [Bonnie]. I was always angry and took out that I wasn't doing well on other people.
"I was embarrassed at what I had become. No one knew I was struggling, not my mates, not my partner. There were times when she was at work and I'd sit on the couch crying. It was weird and it was painful."
Paine said talking to a sports psychologist at Cricket Tasmania helped him to get his career back on track.
"It was the first time I actually told anyone what was going on, but I remember walking out of that room and instantly feeling better, that I had let someone in and that was the first step to dealing with, admitting I needed help," he said.
He also found that saying what was on his mind helped him to overcome self-doubt when he was recalled for the 2017-18 Ashes series.
"It went from an amazing feeling... and then I thought that's not good," he said.
"I'm going to have to bat in front of people and there are going to be millions of people watching. And for three or four days after I thought I don't want to do this.
"Again, spoke to some people and got that stuff off my chest and I thought bugger it, I'll just make the most of it... I'm going to enjoy it."
