“Mitchell Starc, the lone warrior” With Cummins and Hazelwood set to miss out on ICC Champions Trophy 2025, who will carry out Australia's paceman duties?
Pat Cummins, the veteran Australian skipper, is highly unlikely to play in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With Australia supposed to kickstart their campaign from the 22nd of February against England in the ICC Champions Trophy, Cummins's return seems highly unlikely.
Pat Cummins turned down the Sri Lanka tour in order to be with his family, as they are expecting the birth of their second child. However, alongside family duties, Cummins is also battling the ankle strain he faced during his intense spells in the BGT.
Likely with Pat Cummins, fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood is also being ruled out due to injury and is highly unlikely to make it to the Champions Trophy and might have to be replaced, as Mitchell Starc remains the only lead fast bowler for Australia.
However, tough times are to be battled with, and hence, Australia would also need their younger players to step into the shoes of the two great pacers. Though this underlying article includes pace bowlers for the replacement of the two, a spinner also makes his way into the squad due to the undue advantage for spinners in the tracks of Pakistan.
3 Players Who Can Replace Cummins as a Bowler in Australia’s ICC Champions Trophy Squad
1. Sean Abbott
Sean Abbott as a like-to-like replacement for Sean Abbott (Image Credit: X)
Though the Australian nation is known to have several pacers who have done a considerable job with the white ball, Abbott has emerged as one of the most experienced names to have played some amount of international white-ball cricket across several nations in the world.
Sean Abbott, with less than 30 ODIs played, has gone on to score a decent 350+ runs for Australia while also picking 29 wickets with the ball. Abbott can be a like-to-like replacement for the injured skipper, as he also has considerable batting talent alongside being a wicket-taker with the ball.
2. Spencer Johnson
Australia’s left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson is another name who has often made the cut for the Australian side; however, with the big trio in the side, he could not come out in the forefront. However, this time around, both Nathan Ellis and Spencer would now look to make their way into an ICC event for the first time ever.
3. Jhye Richardson
The fast bowler who made his debut nearly a decade back against India turned his fortunes when he got the best of Indian top-order batters like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shikhar Dhawan. However, owing to injuries, the player was eventually ruled out for longer periods.
Jhye Richardson appeared in only 15 ODI games and picked 27 wickets, while his pace can be ideal to replace Josh Hazlewood, known for his high accuracy of line and length.
Tanveer Sangha can be the second optional spinner for Australia in the Champions Trophy (Image Credit: X)
However, other than the pacers in this list, the list also includes Tanveer Sangha, the leg spinner who has also been considered for the ICC Champions Trophy squad, as the tracks in Pakistan might fetch help from an additional spinner other than Adam Zampa and part-timer Glenn Maxwell. While Beau Webster has been considered for replacing Mitchell Marsh, who has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy.
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