Australia captain Pat Cummins’s availability for the upcoming Champions Trophy is now in doubt after it was revealed that he had been dealing with an ankle problem during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, ESPNcricinfo reported.
It was confirmed on Thursday that Pat Cummins would miss the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. He is set to undergo scans in the coming days to assess his fitness, which will determine his availability for the Champions Trophy, scheduled to take place next month in Pakistan and the UAE.
“We’ll have to wait and see when that scan comes back and how it’s tracking. There’s a little bit of work to do. We’ll probably get more information around where that’s at,” Australia’s chair of selectors, George Bailey, was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Cummins shouldered the responsibility of spearheading Australia’s bowling attack during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He bowled 167 overs across five Tests and claimed 25 wickets at an impressive average of 21.36—the highest by any Australian bowler in the series.
Since leading Australia to ODI World Cup glory in 2023, Cummins has played in only two ODIs. He captained Australia in the first two matches of the home series against Pakistan before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In Cummins’s absence from the ODI squad, Australia has relied on stand-in skippers. Steven Smith led the team last season against the West Indies, while Mitchell Marsh took charge during Australia’s UK tour against England. In the final ODI against Pakistan, Josh Inglis stepped up as captain, with several first-choice players resting ahead of the demanding Test series against India.
Cummins is not the only injury concern in Australia’s star-studded pace bowling department. Josh Hazlewood sustained a calf injury in Brisbane, which sidelined him for the final two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was also unavailable for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide due to similar concerns.
Bailey remains optimistic about Hazlewood’s recovery, sharing that his progress has been encouraging. “Josh is working really hard, and all the reports about his recovery from the calf injury are very positive. It’s just a bit tight, given the amount of time he’s missed and how we might structure the workload for the fast bowlers,” Bailey said.