Australia will be without pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood for the Champions Trophy, as both bowlers continue to recover from injuries, selection chair George Bailey confirmed on Thursday.
“They are managing some ongoing injuries and haven’t come up in time for the Champions Trophy,” Bailey said.
With Mitchell Marsh also sidelined due to a back injury and Marcus Stoinis announcing his ODI retirement, Australia will need to make at least four changes to the initial 15-man squad named on January 13.
Australia has until February 12 to finalise its squad, the same day they begin a two-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in Colombo. As part of their preparations, Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson, and Ben Dwarshuis have been added to the ODI squad as pace options, while Tanveer Sangha, Cooper Connolly, and Jake Fraser-McGurk join as additional spin and batting reinforcements.
Selectors are expected to include two of the three new pace bowlers in the final Champions Trophy squad. Fraser-McGurk is seen as a natural replacement for Marsh, who was originally slated to bat at No. 3 but had not been bowling regularly in ODIs. Connolly could step in for Stoinis, but Aaron Hardie now remains the only seam-bowling allrounder in contention.
Notably, Test allrounder Beau Webster has not been included in the Sri Lanka ODI squad, raising questions about his chances for selection in the final Champions Trophy squad.
“While disappointing, it does present a great opportunity for other players to perform for Australia in a world event,” Bailey added.
Cricket Australia confirmed that Cummins and Hazlewood will undergo an extended period of rehabilitation and will also miss the ongoing Test series in Sri Lanka. Both players hold IPL contracts, with Cummins set to captain Sunrisers Hyderabad and Hazlewood returning to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Their participation in the IPL ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June remains uncertain.
With Cummins out and ODI vice-captain Marsh also unavailable, Australia will need a new leader for both the Sri Lanka ODIs and the Champions Trophy. Steven Smith and Travis Head are the frontrunners for the role.
“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,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald told SEN radio on Wednesday. “They’re the two obvious choices.”
Cummins had already opted out of the Sri Lanka Tests to be present for the birth of his second child, but he has also been nursing an ankle issue exacerbated by a heavy workload during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Hazlewood, meanwhile, is recovering from a hip injury after missing multiple Tests due to side and calf injuries.
With limited travel time between the Test series and the ODI series in Sri Lanka, Australia may also struggle to field a full-strength XI for the first ODI on February 12. Several key players, including Smith, Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, and Mitchell Starc, are currently involved in the ongoing Test series in Galle, with Starc unlikely to feature in the ODIs due to workload concerns.
As Australia finalizes its Champions Trophy squad, selectors will need to balance experience with emerging talent while ensuring the squad is fit and competitive ahead of the tournament.
