Bailey coy over Australian skipper Cummins’ participation in upcoming Champions Trophy

Australia’s chairman of selectors, George Bailey, has provided an update on the fitness of Pat Cummins, raising concerns over the Australian skipper’s availability for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.

Cummins, who participated in all five Tests of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), is set to undergo scans on an ankle issue he managed throughout the summer.

Cummins has not been included for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, as the fast bowler is on paternity leave, awaiting the birth of his second child. However, his fitness ahead of the Champions Trophy, set to begin on Feb.19, remains a pressing concern for the Australian camp.

“Pat’s obviously on paternity leave for the next little bit,” Bailey told reporters. “He’s got a little bit of a sore ankle as well. In the next week or so, he’ll undergo scans, and we’ll have more information about where things stand.”

When questioned about Cummins’ chances of featuring in the Champions Trophy, Bailey adopted a cautious tone. “Not really sure yet. We’ll have to wait and see the results of his scan and how he progresses,” he said.

The Australian camp has been managing a series of injuries among their premier fast bowlers. While Cummins played through pain in the Border-Gavaskar series, Mitchell Starc experienced niggles during the fourth Test but managed to feature in the Sydney finale.

On the other hand, Josh Hazlewood’s calf injury forced him out after the Gabba Test, and he was not included in the squad for the Sri Lanka tour.

Despite his exclusion from the Sri Lankan series, Bailey expressed optimism about Hazlewood’s recovery. “He’s working really hard, and all the news on how he’s responding to the calf injury is very positive,” Bailey said.

Bailey clarified that the decision to leave Hazlewood out of the Sri Lanka squad was a precautionary measure to ensure his long-term fitness. “It was just probably a little bit tight for him to make this squad given the time he’s missed. But we’re confident he’ll be fit and raring to go for the Champions Trophy,” he added.

Meanwhile, amid the reports claiming the possibility of the Champions Trophy being shifted out of Pakistan due to delay in renovation work at the stadiums, a PCB official said preparations are in full swing and all the work related to the stadiums will be done by the first week of February.

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Bank Stadium are scheduled to host the matches of the Champions Trophy.

With the renovation work at the venues, which started in August last year and was supposed to be completed by Dec.31, yet to be completed, several reports emerged that the ICC will send a team to Pakistan to inspect the three stadiums. If the venues are not ready for handover on Feb.12, the entire tournament will be shifted to the UAE.

“All the work (related to stadiums) will be done by the first week of February. Pakistan will successfully host the Champions Trophy. No need to go by any rumours. We are committed to give our best. There are people who are trying to tarnish Pakistan’s image on social media. We know who all they are and why they are doing this,” the PCB official told IANS.

However, the PCB on Wednesday moved the ODI tri-series, also involving South Africa and New Zealand, from Multan to Karachi and Lahore, saying the move was due to the advanced stage of preparations at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Stadium, which will host six of the 12 Champions Trophy group stage matches.

Pakistan is preparing to host an ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, when it co-hosted the ODI World Cup.

Indo-Asian News Service