Australian skipper Pat Cummins is "heavily unlikely" for the Champions Trophy due to an ankle problem. Steven Smith and Travis Head are in the running to captain, while Josh Hazlewood is also fighting to make it in time, coach Andrew McDonald said.
This series was Cummins's first as a father. He missed the Test tour of Sri Lanka on the birth of his second child, but has also been nursing the ankle issue that had flared up after a heavy workload in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia's ODI players, who aren't on the Test tour, are due to fly out to Sri Lanka on Thursday but McDonald revealed on Wednesday morning that Cummins was unlikely to be among them.
"Pat Cummins hasn't been able to resume any form of bowling so he's severely unlikely, so that would mean that we do require a captain," McDonald told SEN. "Steve Smith and Travis Head are the two that we've had conversations with as we build that out into this Champions Trophy side alongside Pat at home. And those are two guys we would look at to fulfill that captaincy role".
"They're the two obvious ones. Steve has done a great job here in the first Test match. He's done some good work in one-day international cricket across the journey as well. So it's between those two.".
"But, as I said, Patty is hugely unlikely, which is a bit of a shame, and we've also got Josh Hazlewood, who is battling at the moment. So that medical information will land over the next couple of days and we'll be able to shore that up and let everyone know the direction."
Hazlewood is understood to be dealing with a hip issue after recovering from the side and calf injuries that saw him miss three of the five Tests against India and the Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy after suffering a back injury. There is little chance he will feature in the remainder of the domestic season but he may be able to play for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
Australia hasn't named a replacement for Marsh for Champions Trophy yet. McDonald confirmed on Sunday after the Test win in Galle that Beau Webster was a chance to be called into the ODI squad despite not yet having played ODI cricket for Australia, given the desire to add another seam-bowling allrounder in the mix.
Australia have Aaron Hardie and Marcus Stoinis in the squad already but both have injury concerns. Hardie has just come back bowling after a quad-plagued summer, and Stoinis experienced some hamstring tightness while playing in the SA20 recently and did not bowl in his last match for Durban's Super Giants.
The absence of Cummins and Hazlewood will open the door for Sean Abbott to return to the ODI frame after missing selection for the final Champions Trophy squad due to his recent ODI form. Spencer Johnson also comes into the mix because he was set to fly to Sri Lanka as cover for the ODI squad.
Legspinner Tanveer Sangha has been flown to Sri Lanka ahead of the second Test for development purposes but McDonald confirmed he could play a part in the two ODIs in Colombo before the team flies to the Champions Trophy.
Sangha appears likely to be a reserve player in Pakistan, as he was for the ODI World Cup in India in 2023, given Australia only have one specialist spinner in Adam Zampa in their 15.
The Australian selectors will face a daunting task of assembling an XI for the first one-day international to be played against Sri Lanka on February 12 since there is only one travel day scheduled between the fifth day of the second Test and the first ODI.
The ODI squad members already in the fray, Head, Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc will all play in the Test match. But there may be extra days to recover if the Test ends quickly on a surface that already appears much drier than the previous one.
Read also| Shubman Gill Defends India's BGT Loss, Supports Teammates Before England ODIs