Pat Cummins will return for Australia’s ICC Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan next month but opener Jake Fraser-McGurk has been dumped from the squad, paying the price for his poor recent form.
Cummins will miss the upcoming Test tour of Sri Lanka as he awaits the birth of his second child, but has been named in the 15-player squad for the tournament, unveiled on Monday, despite concerns about an ankle injury he was managing throughout the Border-Gavaskar Test series.
Jake Fraser-McGurk has had a difficult summer.Credit: Getty Images
Fellow quick Josh Hazlewood has also been included amid his injury battles, with calf and side strains restricting him to just two Tests against India.
But the biggest move made by selectors is the exclusion of Fraser-McGurk, who has been struggling badly with the bat at both domestic and international level.
Fraser-McGurk has not surpassed 26 runs in his eight outings for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League this summer and was dismissed for single-digit scores four times. Before that, he scored 16, 13 and seven in the three ODIs against Pakistan in November and then followed that up with nine, 20 and 18 in the T20 series.
“This is a balanced and experienced squad with the core having been involved in the previous one-day World Cup, the West Indies series, last year’s successful tour of the UK and the more recent Pakistan home series,” said chair of selectors George Bailey.
“It offers a variety of options for touring management depending on opposition and the conditions that may present in Pakistan.”
MORE TO COME
AUSTRALIA’S 15-MAN ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY SQUAD
Pat Cummins (captain), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
