Australia's fast bowling spearhead Pat Cummins is in a race against time to be fit for the start of the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, with national selectors considering a strategic, delayed entry for the star paceman.
Cautious Approach for Returning Stars
Chief selector George Bailey confirmed the 15-man squad for the tournament, naming Cummins alongside fellow injured players Josh Hazlewood and Tim David, expressing confidence all three will be available. However, a careful management plan is being plotted.
Both Cummins, managing a back issue, and Hazlewood, recovering from Achilles and calf complaints, are slated to resume bowling next week. Neither is expected to play a competitive match before the World Cup, which is co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The cautious path for Cummins follows his aggressive return from back pain to play the final Ashes Test in Adelaide. "The last scan he got was awesome," Bailey said, with another scan to assess the impact of that Test load. "I think the expectation is that it'll be positive."
Following the Travis Head Blueprint
Selectors are openly modelling a potential strategy on the successful gamble taken with Travis Head during the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Head was kept in the squad despite a broken hand that ruled him out of the first five games, only to return and play a match-winning role in the final.
"That might be a similar sort of situation to Travis Head, where there's an entry point at some point," Bailey explained. "Hopefully we can manage and carry a squad until that point." He acknowledged that while Hazlewood should be ready from the start, the team might be "pushed into a corner" with Cummins, necessitating a squad change.
A final decision on Cummins' place is likely after Australia's three-match T20 series against Pakistan in early February. Once the squad is locked in, players can only be replaced due to injury and cannot return if removed.
Maxwell the Emergency Wicketkeeping Option
In other squad news, Bailey confirmed that all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is considered a genuine backup wicketkeeping option should Josh Inglis suffer a minor, short-term injury, as there is no dedicated reserve keeper in the 15-man group.
"(Maxwell would go) pretty well, I reckon," Bailey quipped. "I've seen him do it. Does he practise it? No. He practises it as much as I saw MS Dhoni practise wicketkeeping. Which is never." He added that Maxwell kept wicket in his youth, suggesting the skills might still be there.
Schedule Allows for Strategic Patience
Australia's early tournament schedule and the competition format provide a window for such a patient approach. Drawn in a group with Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Oman, Australia need only finish in the top two to advance to the Super Eight stage.
Furthermore, ladder position in the initial group is irrelevant for the next phase, as pre-tournament seedings dictate Super Eight groupings. The fact that Australia's first-round games are in Sri Lanka could also favour a spin-heavy attack in Cummins' potential absence.
This confluence of factors gives the Australian think tank the flexibility to play the long game with their premier fast bowler, hoping for a repeat of the Head-inspired glory from 2023.
