Australia’s chief selector, George Bailey, raised concerns over captain Pat Cummins’ availability ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, set to be played in Pakistan and Dubai. George Bailey confirmed that Pat Cummins’ availability remains in doubt, with the final decision dependent on scan results.
Cummins will miss Australia’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka as he takes paternity leave for the birth of his child. The right-arm pacer played all five Tests in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where Australia secured a 3-1 win. Australia has already qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC 2025 final).
Pat Cummins Has a Little Bit of a Sore Ankle as Well – George Bailey
Pat Cummins, who was expected to lead Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy, is now a doubt due to an ankle injury. Cricket Australia confirmed he is managing ankle pain, and officials are uncertain about the severity of the injury. George Bailey said they will have more information after the scans.
“Pat’s obviously on paternity leave for the next little bit,” Bailey told reporters when asked if there was a chance Cummins would play any part against Sri Lanka, as quoted by nine.com.au
“There’s a little bit of work to do, he’s got a little bit of a sore ankle as well so I think in the next week or so he’s got a scan coming there and we’ll get a bit more information around where that’s at,” he added.
We’ll have to wait and see where that scan comes back – George Bailey
Bailey refused to confirm whether Pat Cummins would be part of Australia’s Champions Trophy squad, stating that they would need to wait for the results of Cummins’ ankle scan before making any decisions.
“Not really sure yet, we’ll have to wait and see where that scan comes back and where it’s tracking,” Bailey said.
Josh Hazlewood Is Working Really Hard – George Bailey
Pat Cummins isn’t the only Australian bowler dealing with injuries after a tough summer. Mitchell Starc played with a niggle during the fourth Test, while Josh Hazlewood was ruled out for the rest of the series due to injury and wasn’t selected for the Sri Lanka tour.
However, George Bailey is optimistic about Hazlewood’s recovery, adding that he should be fit for the Champions Trophy. Bailey stated that Hazlewood is responding well to treatment for his calf injury and expects the pacer to be fully ready 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,” he said.
“It was just probably a little bit tight (for this squad) 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.”