The door is open for Steve Smith to return as captain from 2020 onwards, but Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland says the banned batsman has a "very steep hill to climb".
Smith will spend the next 12 months on the sidelines, having also been forced to step down as skipper for his role in the ball-tampering scandal.
CA has barred Smith from holding a leadership position for a further 12 months - with Tim Paine to lead the side in his absence - starting with the fourth Test against South Africa that begins on Friday.
Smith is en route to Sydney, where he will face the music at a press conference late on Thursday.
The world's top-ranked Test batsman was hounded by TV cameras and photographers at Johannesburg airport, requiring the sort of police protection more commonly afforded to high-profile criminals.
The 28-year-old remains shattered but is desperate to rebuild his image, return Australia to the top of world cricket, and reclaim the captaincy.
"He's got a very steep hill to climb to rebuild the confidence and faith of the Australian public," Sutherland said, when asked if Smith could potentially lead the side again.
"The public and the board, who approve the captains of the Australian teams, are the ones who will decide that or not.
"He's got that opportunity.
"When we were talking about the (100 hours of) community service (that form part of the sanctions) and working at club cricket, he said with a smile on his face 'I'll be doing that anyway', which I think says a lot about him."
Coach Darren Lehmann is confident Smith will return to international cricket a better person after a year-long ban.
"We've lost a great young man (as captain)," Lehmann said.
"We all love him, the public love him. At the moment obviously it's hard for him and his family.
"To see the hurt in him over the last three or four days, I've spent a lot of time with him ... you feel for him.
"He's going to come back a better person, there's no doubt about that."
CA's sanctions dictate David Warner will never hold another leadership position, but Sutherland denied the opener's cards had been privately marked and he would never play international cricket again.
STEVE SMITH'S RECORD AS TEST SKIPPER * 34 matches (18 wins, 10 losses, 6 draws) * Helped Australia capture the No.1 Test ranking in 2016 * 3659 runs at average of 70.36 (15 centuries) * Appointed full-time captain after the 2015 Ashes, has topped the ICC's Test batting rankings since December of that year.
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