Cummins likely to miss Champions Trophy

Australia captain Pat Cummins is “heavily unlikely” for the Champions Trophy due to ankle injury, coach Andrew McDonald said on Wednesday.

In Cummins’ absence Steven Smith and Travis Head are in the frame to captain the former Champions Trophy winners.

Moreover, Josh Hazlewood is also battling against time to be fit for the eight-team tournament.

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.

“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,” McDonald told SEN.

“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.”

Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh is already ruled out from the tournament.

While commenting on Hazlewood, he confirmed that the pacer is dealing with a hip issued after recovering from the side and calf injuries.

“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,” he added.