New Delhi [India], January 3 : Australia have left the option open of managing Pat Cummins through the initial phase of the upcoming T20 World Cup if it helps him contribute later in the tournament, similar to the approach they adopted with Travis Head during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Head was carried in the squad despite injury concerns and went on to play a decisive role once fit, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Cummins, along with Josh Hazlewood and Tim David, has been named in Australia's T20 World Cup squad, subject to clearing fitness tests. Cummins has not played since his lone Ashes Test appearance in Adelaide as he continues to recover from a lumbar stress issue in his back. Hazlewood is working his way back from an Achilles injury, while David sustained a hamstring strain that ruled him out of the remainder of the Big Bash League (BBL) season.
Chair of selectors George Bailey expressed confidence that both Hazlewood and David would be fit in time for the World Cup. He also said Australia were hopeful that a scan scheduled for Cummins towards the end of January, which will assess the impact of his Ashes workload, would deliver positive results.
"I don't think they (Cummins and Hazlewood) will be available for the Pakistan series (three T20Is in January), but I think both should be online (for the World Cup)," Bailey said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
"Patty (Pat Cummins) might be a bit later, that might be a similar sort of situation to Travis Head in the 50-over World Cup, where there's an entry point at some point. Hopefully we can manage and carry a squad until that point. I think Hoff (Josh Hazlewood] should be right by the start, think Tim David should be right by the start," he added.
Bailey admitted that several factors would need to align for Cummins to be rested during the early part of the tournament, with a possible return in the latter stages, potentially around the Super Eight phase. Australia's first-round fixtures are against Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, with all matches set to be played in Sri Lanka, a factor that could work in their favour.
"You might get pushed into a corner where you can't, and you might need to make adjustments in the squad," Bailey noted.
"We were close to that having to be the case with Travis. It's got a fit... but I guess the beauty is potentially Colombo and Kandy you might be in a position where you can set the team up in different ways," he added.
"We've obviously got some good all-round skills there, some good spin options. There's different ways of structuring up the team where that might work out pretty naturally," he said.
On the spin front, Bailey pointed to left-arm spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly, who are part of the squad alongside the experienced duo of Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell. Kuhnemann is yet to pick up a wicket in his four T20I appearances, while Connolly has one to his name so far.
Connolly offers an all-round option and has impressed for Perth Scorchers in the BBL.
"It's a nice skill set (left-arm spin) over there, and (there's) some flexibility of where he can bat," Bailey noted.
"So if you do want to throw that into the mix as a secondary spin option, (he) spins the ball the other way, if you're going to be using your offspin options," he said.
"He's continued to grow. I think the exposure that he's had in international cricket's been excellent for him, and he's had some exposure in different roles as well. I just think every time he's done that, it hasn't always been good success, necessarily, but he's a good learner. Just loving seeing him get the opportunity to bat quite high for the Scorchers and also getting plenty of overs," he added.
"(That) is something that we haven't traditionally done a lot of," Bailey said on the abilities of both Connolly and Kuhnemann, who can bowl inside the powerplay.
"I think both those guys have got that skillset, so that allows you to create some space elsewhere to be able to line up certain bowlers and continue to keep Zamps in his space," he added.
One compromise made by the selectors at this stage is the absence of a left-arm fast bowler, with Ben Dwarshuis missing out as Xavier Bartlett secured the final pace-bowling slot. However, Bailey confirmed that Dwarshuis remains very much in contention if Cummins or Hazlewood fail to regain full fitness. With Mitchell Starc retired from T20Is and Spencer Johnson sidelined because of injury, Dwarshuis had provided useful variety and enjoyed success against West Indies and New Zealand last year.
"It's great variety and it's different, so I think any time you can add that to your attack it's a nice point of difference," Bailey noted.
"But there still has to be a high skill level there that comes with it. I don't think you use it just because of the fact it's a variety, so it's a bit of a balance," he added.