In a recent development, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed that captain Pat Cummins is ‘unlikely’ for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.
He also added that Aussies are looking for a new captain for the showpiece event. The test and ODI captain Cummins missed the ongoing Australia tour of Sri Lanka 2025 due to the birth of his second child.
However, he has also been nursing an ankle issue since the test series against India. Australia’s ODI players picked for the two matches against Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy are due to depart on Thursday.
On this occasion, Andrew McDonald has stated that Cummins is unlikely to be among the set of players to travel. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood is also struggling to get fit in time and the head coach believes they will get complete clarity on their fitness in the next couple of days.
“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.”
“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 said.
McDonald said that Steve Smith and Travis Head are in the race to be captain for Sri Lanka ODIs and Champions Trophy.
“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.
“They’re the two obvious ones. Steve has done a great job here in the [first] Test match. He’s done some good work in one-day international cricket across the journey as well. So it’s between those two,” Andrew McDonald added.
Australia are set to play their two-match ODI series which is set to commence on February 12 at R. Premadasa Stadium after the conclusion of second test at Galle.
