MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia captain Pat Cummins is all but ruled out of the Champions Trophy while fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood is also a doubt for the ODI tournament, coach Andrew McDonald said on Wednesday.

Australia will miss their World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins in the marquee eight-team tournament. Australia confirmed Cummins was not able to recover in time from an ankle injury. Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was also ruled out along with Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh.

Just a couple of weeks before the start of the ICC Champions Trophy, Australia have suffered a big blow as their skipper Pat Cummins is close to being ruled out of the competition. Australia coach Andrew McDonald dropped the bomb on Wednesday,

In a big blow for Australian cricket team, coach Andrew McDonald has revealed that captain Pat Cummins is ‘hugely unlikely’ to play in the Champions Trophy 2025 as he recovers from an ankle issue. Australian can be captained by Steve Smith or Travis Head.

One or more of Abbott, Spencer Johnson and Dwarshuis, who are part of the ODIs in Sri Lanka, could make the Champions Trophy squad

Australia captain Pat Cummins is "hugely unlikely" to be fit for the Champions Trophy, leaving the world champions pondering their captaincy options.

The Australian team has suffered multiple injury blows and to top it Stoinis announced his retirement from the 50-over format.