Hyderabad:Australia suffered not one or two, but three major blows with captain Pat Cummins and senior pacer Josh Hazlewood being ruled out from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to injuries while star all-rounder Marcus Stoinis' retirement from the 50-over format.
Cummins, who led the Australian side to their sixth ODI World Cup in 2023, sustained an ankle injury during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 down under where the host emerged victorious by 3-1, the first series win in 10 years. He skipped the Sri Lanka tour to recover from the injury and celebrate the birth of their second child. However, the pacer will not recover from the ankle niggle before the highly anticipated Champions Trophy, returning after eight-year hiatus.
Hazlewood, who left the BGT series midway due to calf strain and did not participate in the last two games, also missed the Sri Lanka tour to keep himself ready for the Champions Trophy but hasn't fully recovered. Hazlewood's last competitive outing was against India in the drawn third Test at Brisbane.
"Unfortunately Pat, Josh and Mitch are managing some ongoing injuries and haven't come up in time for the Champions Trophy," national selection panel chairman George Bailey said on Thursday.
On the other hand, Stoinis has announced his immediate retirement from ODI cricket, ruling himself out of the upcoming Champions Trophy. "Playing ODI cricket for Australia has been an incredible journey, and I'm grateful for every moment I've had in the green and gold," Stoinis said. "Representing my country at the highest level is something I'll always cherish. This wasn't an easy decision, but I believe it's the right time for me to step away from ODIs and fully focus on the next chapter of my career. I've got a fantastic relationship with Ron [Andrew McDonald] and I've hugely appreciated his support. I'll be cheering the boys on in Pakistan."
Earlier, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh withdrew his name from the ICC tournament due to his failure to recover from a back injury. "While disappointing, it does present a great opportunity for other players to perform for Australia in a world event," said Bailey.
Earlier on Wednesday, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald revealed that Steve Smith or Travis Head are the front runners to lead the reigning ODI World Cup winners in the Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to start on February 19.
Australia's next international assignment after the upcoming Champions Trophy is the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa at Lord's in mid-June, and the team would be keen to field their best XI in the title game.
