Melbourne: The experienced pace duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are set to be included in Australia’s provisional squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup despite injury concerns.
Head coach Andrew McDonald Cummins will undergo another scan of his back in four weeks’ time, and a final call on his availability for the mega spectacle, which commences on February 7, will be made after the results of that assessment.
“Pat will have a scan, I think in another four weeks, so that’ll give us the information then on where he’s at for the World Cup. He’ll be named in the squad of 15, and then we’ll get that information as to where he’s at,” McDonald said.
Cummins has played just one international match since suffering a lumbar stress injury in July. He pushed the limits of his rehabilitation from a back stress injury to return for the third Test in Adelaide, where he took six wickets as Australia won by 82 runs, retaining the Ashes urn.
Subsequently, he withdrew from the remainder of the series, with Australia unwilling to take any further risks.
Hazlewood, who missed the entire Ashes series due to hamstring and Achilles injuries that have troubled the 34-year-old pacer, is likely to be fit. Before his injury, the pacer starred in the white-ball series against India and is likely to return in time for the T20 World Cup, giving a major boost to Australia.
“Josh is returning to bowl. He looks as though he should be right in terms of possible timeframes.” McDonald said.
Another concern for Australia is hard-hitting middle-order batter Tim David, who recently injured his hamstring while playing for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL. The finisher had been ruled out for two months earlier this year due to a similar injury, but McDonald believes the 29-year-old will be fit in time for the marquee 20-over tournament.
“Not sure whether it’s just pure muscle or tendon, and that’ll give us a timeframe. I think the timeframe will be kind on TD (Tim David) as well. So he should be available no matter what that injury is,” said McDonald.
Australia will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on February 11. As part of their preparations, they will play a three-match T20I series in Pakistan in January.
(IANS)
