Australia captain Pat Cummins is “highly unlikely” to feature in the Champions Trophy due to an ongoing ankle injury, coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed. Steven Smith and Travis Head are being considered for the captaincy, while Josh Hazlewood is also racing against time to be fit for the tournament.
Cummins had already missed the Test series in Sri Lanka for the birth of his second child, but his ankle issue—aggravated by a heavy workload during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy—has further delayed his return.
Australia’s ODI squad, excluding Test players, is set to depart for Sri Lanka on Thursday. However, McDonald indicated on Wednesday that Cummins is unlikely to be part of the traveling group.
“Pat Cummins hasn’t been able to resume any type of bowling so he’s heavily unlikely, so that would mean that we do need a captain,” McDonald told SEN. “Steve Smith and Travis Head are the two that we’ve been having conversations with while we’ve been building out that Champions Trophy team along with Pat back home. They’ll be the two that we look at for that leadership post.”
“They’re the two obvious ones. Steve has done a great job here in the [first] Test match. He’s done some good work in one-day international cricket across the journey as well. So it’s between those two.
“But, as I said, Patty is hugely unlikely, which is a bit of shame, and we’ve also got Josh Hazlewood, who is battling [to be fit] at the moment. So that medical information will land over the next couple of days and we’ll be able to shore that up and let everyone know the direction.”
Mitchell Marsh Out of Champions Trophy but Could Play in IPL
Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to a back injury and is unlikely to feature in the remainder of the domestic season. However, there remains a possibility that he could still participate in the IPL with the Lucknow Super Giants.
Australia has yet to announce a replacement for Marsh in the Champions Trophy squad. Following the Test victory in Galle, coach Andrew McDonald confirmed that Beau Webster is being considered for the ODI squad, despite having no prior international experience in the format, as the team looks to include another seam-bowling allrounder.
The squad already includes Aaron Hardie and Marcus Stoinis, but both are dealing with injury concerns. Hardie has only recently resumed bowling after a quad injury disrupted his season, while Stoinis experienced hamstring tightness during the SA20 and did not bowl in his last match for Durban’s Super Giants.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
