Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald’s troubling update for Pat Cummins before the Champions Trophy

Australia may find itself searching for a new captain ahead of the Champions Trophy, as Pat Cummins has been deemed “heavily unlikely” to participate in the tournament due to an ankle issue.

Cummins’ injury was managed during the summer, which contributed to his exclusion from the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

When selecting the squad for Sri Lanka, chairman of selectors George Bailey noted that Cummins still had “work to do” but remained optimistic about his potential return.

However, Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald has now indicated that the fast bowler’s chances are slim.

“Pat Cummins has not been able to resume any form of bowling, so it seems highly unlikely he’ll make the Champions Trophy,” he told SEN.

With Cummins’ situation, the search for a new captain is on, and McDonald mentioned that discussions are already underway.

“We’ve been having conversations with Steve Smith and Travis Head while we prepare for the Champions Trophy alongside Pat back home. Those two will be the main candidates for the leadership role,” he stated.

“They’re the most apparent choices. Steve has performed admirably in the recent Test match and has had significant success in one-day internationals throughout his career. So it will be between the two of them.

“That said, it’s unfortunate that Patty is looking highly unlikely to play, and we also have Josh Hazlewood dealing with his own fitness issues at the moment.”

“We’ll have more medical updates in the next few days, which will help us finalise our direction moving forward.”

While Smith and Head are leading candidates, Mitchell Marsh was also in the frame for consideration following his tenure as captain of the T20 team.

However, Marsh was ruled out of the tournament last week due to a persistent back injury.