Australian chief selector, George Bailey, has confirmed that Steve Smith will be appointed captain of the Australian team in the Ashes if Pat Cummins misses his recovery from a back injury.
Australia will host England for the home Ashes this summer, with a five-match Test series starting on November 21. The Test series will continue till January 2026, as it will begin 2 weeks after hosting India for the T20I series.
Pat Cummins has already been ruled out of the upcoming white-ball series against India; Now, according to reports, he is doubtful to play in the Ashes against England as well. If Pat Cummins is unable to play in the first Test, then Australian legend Smith will be made the captain.
Selector George Bailey appointed Steve Smith as captain
Steve Smith is all set to lead Australia in this year’s Ashes if regular captain Pat Cummins is unable to recover from the back injury that has kept him out of action since the last Test against the West Indies. Australian selector George Bailey confirmed the development.
“If Pat doesn’t play, Smudge [Smith] Will captain. It’s business as usual for us. “That formula worked,” Bailey told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Steve Smith returned to Australia from New York and started batting in the Cricket New South Wales nets the very next day after his arrival. He is scheduled to play the next two rounds of the Sheffield Shield for New South Wales at the Gabba and SCG.
“Steve landed, and he was at Cricket NSW the next day, batting. So he’ll do his thing. We’ve tried to tailor everyone’s preparation to suit him and some of the obligations around him, but very relaxed, he’ll be ready to go,” Bailey said.
George Bailey updates Pat Cummins’s involvement with the Australian team
Bailey said that Pat Cummins will remain associated with the team, even if he has been sidelined from playing in the team. He can be seen busy in team preparations and captaincy setup.
He said, “Even if he’s playing, Pat wants to be around because if he’s not playing, he’ll be rehabbing and preparing and bowling, so he’ll be with the team anyway. The information flow and working together as captain and vice-captain will be the same.”
“There will be no questions about Green’s fitness in the Ashes,” selector Bailey said.
Australia continue to grapple with injury concerns, and of most concern is the injury to Cameron Green, who is still recovering from his spine surgery. Recently, Green was ruled out of the white-ball series against India due to minor pain in his arm. It seemed that this precautionary step has been taken from the Australian side.
“Even a minor side strain can put a player out for four to six weeks, but there will be no question about Green’s fitness in the Ashes. It is very, very minor,” Bailey told the ABC.
He concluded, “It’s a very conservative and precautionary approach on our part, given the timeline and the work we’ve done on him. He was a bit sore after the Shield game, and the bigger plan is to get him fit and emerge as an all-rounder in the Ashes.”
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