By Karan Agrawal 
Australia has been dealt with a major blow before the Champions Trophy as the fast bowling duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the multination tournament due to injuries that the fast bowlers suffered during the Border Gavaskar Trophy did not heal in the expected time frame. Cummins who opted out of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child will not feature in the Champions Trophy because of the injury along with Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who has already been ruled out due to back issues. “Unfortunately Pat, Josh, and Mitch are managing some ongoing injuries and haven’t come up in time for the Champions Trophy,” said George Bailey, the national selection panel chair.
The Decision
“While disappointing, it does present a great opportunity for other players to perform for Australia in a world event.” With Pat Cummins ruled out of the Champions Trophy Australia will have to appoint a captain as well with Steve Smith and Travis Head being the frontrunner for the prestigious role said Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald a couple of days back. In the words of McDonald, “They’re the two obvious ones. Steve has done a great job here in the [first] Test match. He’s done some good work in one-day international cricket across the journey as well. So it’s between those two.”
The Surprise
Other than the injuries to Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins another Major news that has come as a surprise is the sudden retirement of all-rounder Marcus Stonis who announced that he will be retiring from ODI cricket with immediate effect. Stoinis who made his debut in 2015 was picked in Australia’s squad for the Champions Trophy but there was doubt over his participation as he was nursing a tight hamstring. The seam bowling allrounder was a part of Australia’s 2023 ODI World Cup winning squad and last played an ODI against Pakistan last year.
The Opportunity
The Australian selectors haven’t yet announced a replacement for the injured trio of Hazlewood, Cummins, and Marsh. Having said that, injuries to multiple players have opened up opportunities for Spencer Johnson and Sean Abbott. Abbott, who was initially left out of the squad, might get a call, whereas Spencer Johnson is all set to fly to Sri Lanka to join the ODI squad as a backup.