According to Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald, Pat Cummins is “hugely unlikely” to be fit for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy and there is also uncertainty regarding Josh Hazlewood’s fitness. Overall, hopes for both McDonald and Cummins seem low.
Injuries aside, both players have been listed without riders for Australia’s 15 man provisional roster alongside Hazlewood, who is also battling an injury. Gratefully, both players have not been ruled out completely just yet.
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“Patty (Pat Cummins) is hugely unlikely which is a bit of a shame and we’ve also got Josh Hazlewood who is battling at the moment,” McDonald said over the radio. “Medical information will land over the next couple of days. We’ll be able to sure that up and let everyone know the direction.
Cummins elected to skip the tour with the team to Sri Lanka as he is welcoming the birth of his second child, but he was also nursing an ankle problem over the five Tests in India. It now appears that the recovery is taking longer than expected, having to consider looking at a fast bowler to act as vice-captain. On the other hand, Hazlewood was sidelined due to calf strain after suffering from side strain in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, not much is known about his current condition at the moment.
“Pat Cummins has been able to resume very little if any bowling which means he is pacing himself heavily unlikely. That means we will need a leader,” McDonald remarked. “That (the decision to pick a replacement leader) will emerge in the next few days.”
Mitchell Marsh is already out of the tournament due to “lower back pain and dysfunction.” Australia has one less player in their arsenal. Marsh had previously captained the ODI side in the absence of Pat Cummins, but now with Pat also out of the scene, Australia have two key players missing. Currently with Australia’s Test side in Sri Lanka, Steve Smith along with Travis Head are favorite candidates to replace Cummins for the ICC event. You can visit our website laserbook
“McDonald told the reporters: “We’ve had discussions about Head or Smith as our next captain. Cummins and England have not been performing to expectations so we had to consider alternatives. He kept the team as captain and he has been exceptional in test matches and in one-day internationals too.” It will be between those two.”
For now, Australia have a few ODIs lined up at Sri Lanka to prepare themselves against England for their game on February 22 in Lahore. For more latest for cricket update click here