Big Blow For Australia As Josh Hazlewood And Pat Cummins Likely To Miss Sri Lanka Test series

January 7, 2025: As Australia prepares for its final ICC World Test Championship assignment against Sri Lanka starting January 29, 2025, there are expectations that pacer Josh Hazlewood will be left out of the squad due to injury concerns. Hazlewood, who has been sidelined since sustaining a calf strain during the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, is unlikely to feature in the two-Test series in Sri Lanka, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

With Australia already confirmed as a finalist in the 2023-25 World Test Championship, selectors are not rushing Hazlewood’s return to the playing eleven for a series that holds little significance in terms of qualification. Hazlewood had missed the last two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and it seems the selectors may prefer to allow him additional time to fully recover.

Pat Cummins, the Australian captain, is also expected to miss the Sri Lanka series as he anticipates the birth of his second child. After a busy and intense five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, Cummins has made clear his unavailability for the Sri Lanka Tests. In the recent series, Cummins led from the front, finishing as Australia’s leading wicket-taker with 25 wickets, including valuable runs with the bat, such as his 49 and 41 in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

For the Sri Lanka tour, selectors are expected to announce a squad of around 16 players, with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland likely to lead the pace attack in Cummins’ absence. Nathan Lyon, the veteran Australian off-spinner, is expected to play a significant role despite dealing with a hip complaint. Lyon has already undergone tests and Cricket Australia is confident he will be fit for both Tests. He may be partnered by either Todd Murphy or Matthew Kuhnemann in the spin department.

The selectors are also looking ahead to the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan and the UAE from February 19 to March 9, 2025. As part of the planning for both formats, the squad for the Sri Lanka Tests will be finalized by Wednesday, with the announcement set for Thursday.

Meanwhile, Glenn Maxwell, despite his recent form in white-ball cricket, appears to have slim chances of a Test recall. The selectors are reportedly looking at Cooper Connolly, the young all-rounder from Western Australia, as a possible addition to the Test squad.

Possible Test Squad for Sri Lanka:

• Usman Khawaja
• Sam Konstas
• Travis Head
• Marnus Labuschagne
• Steve Smith
• Peter Handscomb
• Nathan McSweeney/Cooper Connolly
• Beau Webster
• Alex Carey
• Sean Abbott
• Nathan Lyon
• Todd Murphy
• Matthew Kuhnemann
• Mitchell Starc
• Scott Boland
• Jhye Richardson

As the Australian team prepares for what promises to be a challenging but ultimately low-stakes series in Sri Lanka, the focus will be on managing player workloads, particularly in light of the grueling Border-Gavaskar series and the looming ICC Champions Trophy.