Pat Cummins the Australian skipper is "heavily unlikely" to lead the side in the upcoming Champions Trophy as per reports in ESPN Cricinfo. Coach Andrew McDonald has also said that Josh Hazlewood is also battling injury concerns and might not eventually make the cut.
Steve Smith or Travis Head might lead the side if Cummins fails to recover on time. Both showed good form with the bat in recent times and Australia are hoping that one of them manage captaincy duties along with the batting responsibilities when the time comes.
The Australian team has further injury concerns with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh also ruled out due to back injury. Australia's provisional squad was announced earlier but the side might see a lot of changes with the recent injury concerns. Cummins missed the Test tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child, but he has also been nursing the ankle issue that had flared up after a heavy workload in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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Patty Is Hugely Unlikely - Australian Coach Andrew McDonald
The Australian ODI players who are not part of the Test side will fly to Sri Lanka for the ODI series on Thursday but the head coach confirmed that Cummins is not among those.
"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. 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" McDonald told SEN.
"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" McDonald added further.
Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood is battling hip injury concerns. He has recovered from the side and calf injuries that saw him miss the three Tests against India and get ruled out of the Sri Lanka Test series. He too is unlikely to be fit for the Champions Trophy.
Australia's Provisional Champions Trophy Squad
Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
