Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Australia ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. In a major development for the Men in Yellow ahead of the marquee event, it was confirmed that skipper Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the tournament.
Furthermore, ace pacer Josh Hazlewood won’t be available as well. The development was made on the same day when all-rounder Marcus Stoinis announced his retirement from ODI cricket, a few weeks after being named in Australia's preliminary squad for the tournament.
Cummins' exclusion from the squad came after he was unable to recover from the ankle problem that he suffered from during the latter stages of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. On the other hand, Hazlewood has developed a hip problem following earlier hip and calf strains.
Apart from Cummins, Hazlewood, and Stoinis, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has already been withdrawn from the squad after his back injury worsened during rehabilitation. National selection panel chair George Bailey addressed the issue and informed the press about the exclusions ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025.
"Unfortunately Pat, Josh and Mitch are managing some ongoing injuries and haven’t come up in time for the Champions Trophy. While disappointing, it does present a great opportunity for other players to perform for Australia in a world event,” Bailey was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
Notably, both Cummins and Hazlewood will have to go under an extended period of rehabilitation before they receive clearance to play. Furthermore, both players' involvement in the upcoming edition of the IPL has also been put into question.
Australia's head coach, Andrew McDonald, talked about how either one of Steve Smith or Travis Head could go on to replace Cummins as the skipper for the upcoming tournament. The Men in Yellow will kick off their Champions Trophy campaign by taking on England on February 22.