By Kaif - Feb 05, 2025 11:33 AM
Pat Cummins almost ruled out of Champions Trophy 2025: The start date of the Champions Trophy is getting closer and all the teams will have to finalize their final squads by next week. Some teams may not make any changes, but the 2023 World Cup winning team Australia may have to change its squad. The main reason for this is captain Pat Cummins. Cummins is suffering from an ankle problem and now it is very unlikely that this strong player will be fit for the Champions Trophy. This has also been confirmed by Australia's head coach Andrew McDonald, who is on a tour of Sri Lanka with the team for the two-Test series.
Australian Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has been playing cricket continuously for some time. He also gave his best in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and was the bowler who bowled the most overs in the series. His efforts also worked and Australia won the BGT by defeating India 3-1. However, the effect of workload was seen on Cummins and he had a problem in his ankle. Cummins took a break from the Sri Lanka tour due to the birth of his second child and it was expected that he would be fit for the Champions Trophy but now it is almost impossible for him to play.
Andrew McDonald told SEN that Pat Cummins is not capable of resuming any type of bowling, so there is not much chance of him playing.
McDonald further said, 'As I said, Patty is very difficult to play, which is a bit embarrassing and we also have Josh Hazlewood, who is struggling at the moment. So the medical information will be available in the next few days and we will be able to strengthen it and give everyone a direction.'
It is worth noting that the Australian team is on a tour of Sri Lanka these days. Where a 2-match Test series is being played between the two teams. Australia is leading 1-0 by winning the first match of the series. Pat Cummins is not a part of the Australian team in this series as well. Because of this, Steve Smith is captaining the Australian team on the tour. Actually, Cummins was out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child.
Australia captain Pat Cummins performed brilliantly in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Pat Cummins was the second highest wicket-taker after Bumrah in this series. Cummins took 25 wickets while bowling brilliantly in the Border Gavaskar Trophy and he was the highest wicket-taker from Australia.
With Pat Cummins out of the Champions Trophy, the names of Steve Smith and Travis Head are emerging as contenders for the captaincy. Smith is also leading the Test team in Sri Lanka. Head, on the other hand, does not have the experience of captaincy in ODIs yet. But he has led the team in T20 Internationals. In such a situation, if Cummins is not fit, then one of these two can be given the responsibility of leading the team.
Also Read: Winners of Champions Trophy season by season (1998 to 2025)
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