Pat Cummins has remained as Australian captain for their must-win World Cup clash with Sri Lanka, despite Michael Clarke’s bombshell claim he could be dropped in the wake of the team’s terrible start to the tournament.
With the Aussies at the bottom of the ladder after getting a pasting from India and South Africa, questions are being asked about the make-up of the team.
Clarke, who led Australia to the 2015 World Cup victory on home soil, raised speculation on The Big Sports Breakfast on Monday that Cummins could be getting the punt with Steve Smith taking over as skipper.
The Australians dumped wicketkeeper Alex Carey after the first-up loss to India and most of the squad has struggled to make any impact.
“I heard last night that Pat Cummins is not going to be selected for this game,” Clarke claimed.
“In two games, we’ve dropped our wicketkeeper, he is one of the most important people in your squad. So he got one game and got dropped. Now there’s talk we’re going to drop our captain.
“So in two games our two most significant players in a squad on tour are going to be left out. Do you not know your best XI before you get to a World Cup?
“If Alex Carey is only given one game, he shouldn’t be in India. They shouldn’t have taken him. If Pat Cummins is going to get dropped and not captain the team, then you guys have selected the wrong captain.
“Winning the Test championship swept a lot of our problems under the carpet. We are a long way from our best.”
However, Cummins lined up for the coin toss on Monday evening in Lucknow, with Australia fielding an unchanged XI.
Clarke was also up in arms about all-rounder Cameron Green being out of the line-up because he’s exhausted due to his heavy workload in the lead-up to the Cup.
Pat Cummins leads the Australian side off. (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
“That tells me man management is not happening. How can you allow a player to be exhausted going into the biggest event you’re playing,” he fumed.
Carey and Green were dropped for Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis for the loss to India, but the moves failed to pay dividends.
With Australia possibly needing to win six of their remaining seven round-robin matches to advance, the pressure is on Cummins’ team.
The star paceman said on Sunday that he was confident his players will rise to the task.
“No doubt we haven’t been up to the standard that we’d like to hold. We’ve been outplayed both games,” Cummins said. “When we’re at our best, we’re putting big runs on the board, we’re putting the pressure back on the opposition, us bowlers are taking wickets through the middle.
“We haven’t been able to pull any of that together so far. We know what makes us a really good team. It wasn’t that long ago we were No.1 in the world.
“After the last game, everyone was a little bit flat. But the last couple of days have been really good. Everyone has rolled up their sleeves and want to get to work and make amends.
“The mood in the camp has been fantastic. Everyone is desperate to turn it around.”
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