George Bailey, Australia's chairman of selectors, has stated that Pat Cummins will have an ankle scan after playing in all five Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Due to paternity leave, while awaiting the birth of his second child, Cummins has already been rested from the Sri Lankan tour. His availability for the Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19, is currently uncertain.
Bailey on Cummins
Cummins' fitness was further questioned when Bailey disclosed that he had dealt with an ankle problem during the Test summer.
"Pat's obviously on paternity leave for the next little bit. There's a little bit of work to do. He's got a little bit of a sore ankle as well, so I think in the next week or so, he's got a scan coming, and we'll get a bit more information around where that's at," Bailey told reporters when asked about Cummins' potential involvement in the Sri Lanka series.
Bailey was evasive when asked if Cummins would be competing in the much-awaited edition of the Champions Trophy.
He said "Not really sure yet. We'll have to wait and see where that scan comes back and where it's tracking."
Injury scare in Aussie camp
Other Australian pacers besides Cummins are dealing with injury issues as well. Josh Hazlewood was unable to play in the series following the Gabba Test because of a calf injury, while Mitchell Starc was unable to bowl much in the Sydney Test after suffering niggles during the fourth Test.
However, despite Hazlewood's exclusion from the Sri Lanka tour squad, Bailey remained optimistic about his recuperation.
"He's working really hard, and all the news on how he's responding to the calf injury is coming along really well. It was just probably a little bit tight (for this squad) given the amount of time he would've missed. Looking at how we may structure those loads for the quicks, it just worked out that unfortunately for him, he didn't quite get there in time. But we're really confident he should be fit and raring to go for the Champions Trophy," Bailey said.
As they get ready for the much-awaited mega tournament, the Australian squad will be hopeful that their pace trio returns to full fitness.