ICC Champions Trophy: Pat Cummins to lead Australia’s big guns

Pat Cummins to captain Australia at Champions Trophy with Hazlewood in squad; experienced team aims for success.

Pat Cummins will captain Australia at the Champions Trophy after being named in a preliminary 15-man squad also featuring fellow quick Josh Hazlewood on Monday (January 13, 2025).

Cummins will skip the test series in Sri Lanka in January and early February for personal reasons but will return to Australia's colours for the one-day international tournament being played in Pakistan and United Arab Emirates from Feb. 19.

Hazlewood missed the last two tests in the recent series triumph over India because of calf and side injuries but will reunite with Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the pace attack that has helped Australia to multiple successes over the last decade.

There was no place in the squad for opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, who has been short of runs, but otherwise the squad had a familiar feel with all but three of the team that won the 50-overs World Cup in 2023 included.

All-rounders Matt Short and Aaron Hardie as well as quick bowler Nathan Ellis are the least experienced international players in the squad with less than a dozen ODIs each.

"This is a balanced and experienced squad," head selector George Bailey said in a news release.

"It offers a variety of options for touring management depending on opposition and the conditions that may present in Pakistan."