Worry for Australia: Cummins to Undergo Scan on Sore Ankle Ahead of Champions Trophy
Australian captain Pat Cummins faces an injury concern ahead of next month's Champions Trophy, with the pacer set to undergo a scan on his sore ankle.
Sydney: Australian captain Pat Cummins faces an injury concern ahead of next month’s Champions Trophy, with the pacer set to undergo a scan on his sore ankle. Chairman of selectors George Bailey refrained from confirming Cummins’ availability for the upcoming event, leaving doubts about his participation.
Cummins has been dealing with the ankle issue throughout the Australian summer but led his team to a 3-1 victory over India in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Test series. Bailey, however, remained cautious when asked about Cummins’ readiness for the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.
“We’re not really sure yet, we’ll have to wait and see where that scan comes back and where it’s tracking,” Bailey told Nine.com.au.
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Australia Announces Squad for Sri Lanka Tests
Australia also named its squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which features several new faces, with several stalwarts, including Cummins, missing from the list. The team will be led by top-order batter Steve Smith.
“Pat’s obviously on paternity leave for the next little bit,” Bailey explained. “He’s got a sore ankle as well, so he has a scan coming up in the next week or so, and we’ll get more information around where that’s at.”
Confidence in Hazlewood’s Recovery
Despite Cummins’ uncertain status, Bailey expressed confidence that pacer Josh Hazlewood, who had been sidelined due to a left side injury and calf strain, would be fit for the Champions Trophy. Hazlewood was ruled out of the pink-ball Test at Adelaide and missed the final two matches of the series.
“He’s working really hard, and all the news on how he’s responding to the calf injury is coming along really well,” said Bailey.
While Hazlewood didn’t make it into the Sri Lanka-bound squad, Bailey explained, “It was just probably a little bit tight given the amount of time he would’ve missed. We had to consider the loads those quicks may be put under, but we’re really confident he should be fit and raring to go for the Champions Trophy.”
