Australia suffered a double blow ahead of the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 as captain Pat Cummins and star fast bowler Josh Hazlewood have been ruled out of the eight-team event.
“Australia will need to make four changes to their preliminary squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy with confirmation skipper Pat Cummins and fellow fast bowler Josh Hazlewood have been ruled out of the tournament,” Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement.
The statement revealed that the Australian captain failed to recover from his ankle injury while Hazlewood was dealing with a hip issue that kept him out of part of the Test series against India.
“Cummins has not recovered from the ankle issue that plagued him towards the end of the recent Border Gavaskar Trophy Test series against India, while Hazlewood has developed a hip problem following earlier hip and calf strains,” the statement added.
“Both fast bowlers will require an extended period of rehabilitation before they receive the all-clear to return to play, which places a question mark over their involvement in the Indian Premier League which follows the Champions Trophy.”
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Earlier today, Australia suffered another blow to their preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 as their star all-rounder Marcus Stoinis left fans shocked with his immediate retirement from the ODI format.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has already been ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury.
“Unfortunately Pat [Cummins], Josh [Hazlewood] and Mitch [Marsh] are managing some ongoing injuries and haven’t come up in time for the Champion’s Trophy,” national selection panel chair George Bailey said today.
“While disappointing, it does present a great opportunity for other players to perform for Australia in a world event.”
Australia preliminary squad for Champions Trophy: Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
READ: Australia all-rounder announces shock retirement ahead of Champions Trophy