Pat Cummins set for scans for ankle injury, Champions Trophy participation in doubt

Pat Cummins is scheduled to undergo scans on his ankle, raising concerns about his availability for the upcoming Champions Trophy, set to begin on February 19. The Australian skipper's fitness will be closely monitored.

In Short

• Pat Cummins to undergo scans for ankle injury after India series
• Cummins on paternity leave, uncertain for Champions Trophy
• Josh Hazlewood is recovering well from calf injury

Australia's chairman of selectors, George Bailey, has confirmed that Pat Cummins is set to undergo scans on his ankle following his participation in all five Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Cummins has already been ruled out of the Sri Lankan tour due to paternity leave as he awaits the birth of his second child, and now faces uncertainty regarding his availability for the Champions Trophy, which begins on February 19.

Bailey revealed that Cummins had managed an ankle issue throughout the Test summer, adding further concern about his fitness. "Pat's obviously on paternity leave for the next little bit," Bailey told reporters when asked about Cummins' potential involvement in the Sri Lanka series.

"There's a little bit of work to do. He's got a little bit of a sore ankle as well, so I think in the next week or so, he's got a scan coming, and we'll get a bit more information around where that's at," Bailey added.

When pressed on Cummins' participation in the Champions Trophy, Bailey remained non-committal, stating, "Not really sure yet. We'll have to wait and see where that scan comes back and where it's tracking."

Cummins isn't the only Australian pacer grappling with injury concerns. Mitchell Starc experienced niggles during the fourth Test but managed to play in Sydney, while Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the series after the Gabba Test due to a calf injury.

Hazlewood was also omitted from the Sri Lanka tour squad, but Bailey expressed confidence in his recovery progress. "He's working really hard, and all the news on how he's responding to the calf injury is coming along really well," Bailey said.

"It was just probably a little bit tight (for this squad) given the amount of time he would've missed. Looking at how we may structure those loads for the quicks, it just worked out that unfortunately for him, he didn't quite get there in time. But we're really confident he should be fit and raring to go for the Champions Trophy."

The Australian team will be hoping their pace trio regains full fitness as they prepare for the highly anticipated tournament.