Robert Key's claims to become England Twenty20 captain were enhanced when Andrew Strauss argued for the opener.

Strauss, England's Test and one-day international captain, was on Monday omitted from a provisional 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 championship.

Strauss confirmed he is comfortable with the decision on the grounds that he believes he does not deserve a place in the team.

But it leaves the selectors searching for another captain and a new face would be England's fifth across all forms of the game in the last 12 months.

Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff have all indicated an unwillingness to take the reins again.

Key has not played international cricket for four years but his limited-overs success with Kent has put him right in the frame - and Strauss believes the extra exposure county players have had thanks to Twenty20 cricket makes them an attractive choice.

"I think the fact some of the county guys have played more than the international players helps them," said Strauss.

"Twenty20 is a very different format of the game and accordingly you need to plan for that format and don't look past that when you come to decide the side.

"The rumours you hear on the county circuit is that Rob has done a pretty good job. He is a good operator and definitely one of the names on the list.

"KP has to decide how keen he is to come back as captain. They (Flintoff, Pietersen and Collingwood) have all had issues doing the job which makes them more reluctant to do it in the future.

"That doesn't mean they definitely rule themselves out - but that is something we will have to ask them.

"The selectors must decide how they view the Twenty20 team and what their best XI is. That is an important part of it - whoever captains has definitely got to be worth their place in that XI.

"We will look at guys who have done it before but there are other options as well, guys from outside the squad who could captain the side. Rob Key is definitely a candidate."

Key is joined on a potential shortlist by the likes of Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas, the only Englishman so far to have experienced life in the Indian Premier League and now a regular in England's limited over set-up.

Flintoff, Pietersen, Collingwood, Ravi Bopara and Owais Shah are all heading to South Africa to join the IPL bandwagon at the start of the busiest summer of cricket England has ever known.

"Having some of our players going to the IPL is a good thing," said Strauss.

"They get to experience more of that game, learn from other countries as to how they are playing and hopefully come back better players themselves."

Strauss scored an unbeaten 79 from 61 balls in an innings reduced to 20 overs as England won the fourth one-day international against the West Indies.

But he explained the decision to exclude him from the squad had been mutual and based on his own feelings that Twenty20 cricket does not suit his style.

"Hopefully that innings proved there is more to my game than being a stodgy Test opener and why I feel I can keep doing a good job in 50-over cricket," he said.

"But in Twenty20 you need the power player and that is not necessarily a strength of mine. I felt quite strongly that whoever captains any team should be worth their place in the side."

Less than a year ago the England and Wales Cricket Board appointed Pietersen and insisted the policy of one captain across all formats of the game was the only way to go.

But Strauss disagrees and is not concerned that relinquishing the captaincy in one format of the game might undermine his standing in the dressing room.

"I was appointed captain of the West Indies tour with the proviso that both the 50-over and Twenty20 would be revisited at the end of the tour and I was happy with that," said Strauss.

"I think I have proved I am capable of playing 50-over cricket but it would be wrong for me to say I want to be Twenty20 captain so I am captain in all forms of the game.

"It is right to look at them separately. I have no problem handing over the reins to someone else. I think England can do well.

"Whoever gets the appointment has a blank canvas to work from and some very talented players."

The Twenty20 captain will not be chosen until a new coach has been appointed - and Strauss urged the ECB to sort the situation as soon as possible.

Andy Flower, who was the stand-in coach in the Caribbean, is favourite for the role and Strauss believes the two work well together

Strauss said: "I have had no involvement in the process apart from giving my thoughts on Andy Flower. I think he did an excellent job in the West Indies and we could work together.

"There will be other people who are just as qualified to do the job. The sooner the appointment is announced, the better."