February 5, New Delhi Due to their individual injury concerns, Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood are not expected to participate in the next Champions Trophy, according to head coach Andrew McDonald.

After guiding Australia to a 3-1 victory over India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home, Cummins has been battling left ankle stiffness. He missed the current Test tour of Sri Lanka because of the birth of his second kid.

Hazlewood, on the other hand, is battling a hip problem after his recovery from the calf and side strain ailments that prevented him from playing competitive cricket following the Brisbane Test match against India in December of last year.

Additionally, McDonald said that Travis Head and Steve Smith are candidates to lead Australia in the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19. We definitely need a captain since Pat Cummins is very unlikely to be able to start bowling.

As we’ve been assembling that Champions Trophy squad with Pat back home, we’ve been speaking with two people: Steve Smith and Travis Head. We will consider both of them for that leadership position. The two obvious ones are these two. In this (first) Test match, Steve has performed well.

Along the way, he has also performed well in one-day international cricket. So, it’s a choice between the two. However, as I said before, Patty is quite improbable, which is unfortunate. Additionally, Josh Hazlewood is now fighting to stay healthy. Therefore, we will be able to support that and tell everyone of the direction once the medical information arrives over the course of the next several days,” McDonald told SEN Radio.

With Cummins and Hazlewood out, Australia will have three new players in their squad for the Champions Trophy after losing all-rounder Mitchell Marsh to a back injury.

Teams have until February 12 to provide the ICC their final 15-person tournament teams. Australia, Afghanistan, England, and South Africa are all placed into Group B of the Champions Trophy.

On February 22, Australia will play England in the Champions Trophy opener at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Pat Cummins (c), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus LabUschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, and Adam Zampa make up Australia’s provisional squad.