BGT: Cummins confirms Hazlewood ruled out of remainder of the series
Australia skipper Pat Cummins has confirmed that fast-bowler Josh Hazlewood will be out of the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series due to calf injury.
Having already confirmed their place for the ICC World Test Championship Final with the 3-1 series win over India, that also brought the Border-Gavaskar back to their grasp after a decade, Australia could be missing the services of Pat Cummins for the upcoming two-Test tour of Sri Lanka due to personal reasons.
Sunday’s six-wicket victory over India at the Sydney Cricket Ground ensured Australia won every bilateral trophy for which they compete, capping a superb run for the team under Cummins.
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However, with Cummins and his partner expecting their second child later this month, the Aussie skipper could miss the series against the Islanders, and the decision makes more sense in terms of workload management of the star quick, who has been relentless across all five Tests against India, and also given the fact that the two Tests (their last of this current WTC cycle) are effectively dead rubbers.
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“We’ll wait and see. (His wife) Becky is hanging on at the moment, so we’ll play it by ear. But most likely I might struggle to get over there,” Cummins told reporters.
Cummins’ likely absence means Steve Smith will be in charge and he’ll attempt to finally pass the 10,000-run mark after becoming the first man to be dismissed twice in the 9,990s.
Travis Head is the other co vice-captain and could also be considered to take over from Cummins in Sri Lanka. The left-hander, Australia’s leading run-scorer against India with centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane, conceded the series had taken a toll.
Australia’s squad for the tour of Sri Lanka is set to be named later this week. The team will spend just under a week training in Dubai to prepare for the two Tests in Galle, where rank-turners typically welcome touring sides.
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