Cummins & Hazlewood Ruled Out Of Champions Trophy

The Australian Cricket Team is currently in the middle of an injury crisis as their key players have been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. The reigning ODI champions will now have to make as many as four edits into their CT squad.

Regular skipper Pat Cummins & Josh Hazlewood have been ruled out of the tournament with hip & ankle injuries respectively. While Marcus Stoinis said goodbye to the ODI format on Thursday (6th February). Mitchell Marsh too has been ruled out of the event due to lower back pain & dysfunction.

George Bailey on Injury Hit Aussie Squad

"It's unfortunate that both Pat Cummins & Josh Hazlewood will be missing the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy due to injuries, while, it also provides an opportunity to the younger lot to showcase their talent on the biggest stage of the game."

Hazlewood has a hip problem, having earlier suffered hip and calf strains. Meanwhile, Cummins is currently suffering from an ankle injury, an injury he sustained in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. This also means that the Australian Cricket team will now have to look for a fast bowler & as well as a captain.

The Australian coach Andre McDonald had earlier mentioned that Cummins was 'highly unlikely' to feature in the Champions Trophy. The Aussie head coach also stated that Steve Smith & Travis Head are the two options they are looking to bank on & the conversations with both of them are on.

Andrew McDonald On AUS CT Captaincy

"We're having conversations with Steve & Head, we're building the squad for the Champions Trophy along with Pat Back home, currently those two are best candidates for that post," McDonald said.

" Steve Smith & Travis Head are the two options we have, Steve has done a great job in the first test here, and he also has the experience of leading the White-ball team in his career, we're having conversations with these two, so it'll be either Steve or Travis Who'll be leading the side ."

Australia, who are in Group B, face England in their opening match of the Champions Trophy on February 22. Their next game is against South Africa on February 25 while their last group match is against Afghanistan on February 28. The semifinals are scheduled on March 4 and 5, with the final to be held on March 9.