Pat Cummins ruled out of ICC Champions Trophy? George Bailey drops a bombshell on the Australian captain
Australia head coach George Bailey has expressed concern over captain Pat Cummins’ availability ahead of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which will be played in Pakistan and Dubai. George Bailey confirmed that Pat Cummins’ availability remains questionable, with a final decision dependent on the results of the scan.
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 victory. Australia has already qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC 2025 finals).
Pat Cummins has a bit of ankle pain too – George Bailey
Pat Cummins, who was expected to lead Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy, is now a question mark with an ankle injury. Cricket Australia confirmed he is dealing with ankle pain and officials are unsure of the severity of the injury. George Bailey said he would have more information after the scan.
“Pat is obviously on paternity leave for a while,” Bailey told reporters when asked if there was a chance of Cummins playing any part against Sri Lanka, as quoted by nine.com.au
“He’s got a bit of work to do, his ankle is a bit sore, so I think he’ll come in for a scan in the next week and we’ll get a bit more information on where that is,” 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, saying he would have to wait for the results of Cummins’ ankle scan before making any decision.
“I’m not sure yet, we’ll have to wait and see where that footage comes back and where it tracks,” Bailey said.
Josh Hazlewood is working really hard – George Bailey
Pat Cummins isn’t the only Australian bowler struggling with injuries after a tough summer. Mitchell Starc played restlessly during the fourth Test, while Josh Hazlewood was ruled out for the rest of the series with an injury and was not selected for the tour of Sri Lanka.
However, George Bailey is optimistic about Hazlewood’s recovery, adding that he should be fit for the Champions Trophy. Bailey said Hazlewood is responding well to treatment on a calf injury and expects the pacer to be fully fit for the Champions Trophy.
“He’s working really hard and any news on how he’s responding to his calf injury is coming in really well,” he said.
“It was probably a little bit tight (for this team) with the amount of time he would have missed and again looking at how we can potentially structure those workloads that those quick players could be exposed to. It just worked out that unfortunately he didn’t get there in time, but I am confident that he should be fit and ready to win the Champions Trophy.”
