Steve Smith will return to the format where it all began when he leads Australia's tilt at Twenty20 glory next month.
Smith started his international career as a T20 sensation in 2010, while skippering Sydney Sixers to the inaugural Big Bash League title in 2012 fast-tracked his development.
Desperate for Australia to win the T20 World Cup after five failed attempts, chairman of selectors Rod Marsh wanted Smith in charge.
Aaron Finch was officially stripped of the T20 captaincy on Tuesday, when Marsh's panel replaced him with the nation's sharpest cricket brain.
"It's been discussed ... we thought it was the right thing, all of us," Marsh said.
"I told Aaron on Saturday.
"He was naturally disappointed, as you would be. But he also understood the reasons why Steven is captain."
Finch was appointed T20 captain in October 2014, when Smith was yet to nail down his place in the ODI side or dominate the Test arena.
Marsh had long been thinking about tweaking the arrangement for Australia's T20 World Cup campaign, which starts on March 18 in India.
But the change came as a surprise to Smith.
"I've always been supportive of Aaron as the T20 captain," the 26-year-old said of Finch, who was included in Australia's 15-man World Cup squad.
"I didn't really find it strange.
"I've played with Aaron a lot. He's captained me in T20s in Pune in the IPL before and did a good job.
"He's still a leader amongst the group."
Former skipper Ricky Ponting raised concerns about the added burden on Smith but the fresh-faced batsman felt he could juggle three formats and a jam-packed schedule.
"It's part and parcel of the game these days," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to taking over this side."
Smith agreed with Ponting that T20 cricket demanded a lot from captains.
"It's a fast-paced game. You have to think on your feet, you have to be ahead of the game," he said.
"We haven't had a lot of success (in India) so it's going to be a tough tour but I'm really looking forward to it."
There were plenty of surprises in the squad announced on Tuesday.
Matthew Wade was dumped, with Test keeper Peter Nevill given the gloves.
Spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, both yet to play a T20 international, were preferred ahead of Nathan Lyon and Cameron Boyce.
Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Coulter-Nile headline an attack chock-full of allrounders, with Shane Watson, Mitch Marsh, James Faulkner and John Hastings all included.
"They're quite experienced bowlers," Smith said of Hazlewood and Coulter-Nile, who both missed the recent T20 series against India.
"We get that penetration back which we've lacked a little bit in the shorter form of the game for a while now."
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell and Andrew Tye round out the touring party.
Warner will serve as Smith's deputy, as is the case in the other two formats.
"It offers us important continuity, not only ahead of the World T20, but beyond that tournament as well," Marsh said.
T20 World Cup squad: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Shane Watson, Steve Smith (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Peter Nevill, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Aaron Finch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ashton Agar, Andrew Tye.
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