Australia captain Pat Cummins is in doubt for Champions Trophy 2025 owing to an ankle problem which was managed throughout the recently concluded Test series against India.
It was revealed that Cummins would miss the upcoming Test tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child and will undergo scans on his ankle in the coming days to determine whether he will be available for Australia’s campaign in the Champions Trophy starting February 22.
"We'll have to wait and see when that scan comes back and see how it's tracking," chief selector George Bailey said. "There's a little bit of work to do. We'll probably get a bit more information around where that's at."
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Steve Smith will lead a 16-member Australian squad in a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka.
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Cummins bowled 167 overs in Australia's 3-1 win against India, the most by a player in the series, fishing with 25 wickets at 21.36.
Since leading Australia to title success at the 2023 World Cup, Cummins has played only two ODIs to manage his workload. Australia, in the meantime, have named multiple stand-in captains. Steve Smith led during the ODI series against the West Indies last year; Mitchell Marsh for the England series, where Smith returned for the decider. Against Pakistan, Josh Inglis captained them in the final ODI in Perth, becoming the sixth player to lead Australia in 2024.
Bailey optimistic on Hazlewood's return
Another key Australia fast bowler battling a fitness issue is Josh Hazlewood, who was ruled out midway through the India series due to a calf injury. Consequently, Hazlewood wasn't considered for the Sri Lanka tour.
Bailey, however, expressed optimism regarding his fitness for the Champions Trophy: "He's working really hard, and all the news on how he's responding to the calf injury is coming along really well. "It was just probably a little bit tight (to include Hazlewood in the Sri Lanka tour) given the amount of time he would've missed and again looking how we potentially may structure up those loads those quicks may be put under. It just worked out that unfortunately for him he didn't quite get there in time but really confident he should be fit and raring to go for the Champions Trophy."
Australia’s first match of the tournament is on February 22 against arch-rivals Australia. To prepare for the event, they are scheduled to play a one-off ODI in Sri Lanka on February 13 following the two Tests.
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