Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has claimed Pat Cummins will be sensationally axed for Monday night’s crunch World Cup game against Sri Lanka, Australian media reported.
The five-time champions are staring down the barrel of an early exit after heavy losses to India and South Africa in their opening games.
After their first loss to India, wicketkeeper Alex Carey and allrounder Cameron Green were dropped for Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis, but the moves failed to pay dividends.
If Cummins is axed it would be a bombshell move for the must-win match.
“I heard last night that Pat Cummins is not going to be selected for this game,” Clarke told Sky Sports Radio’s Big Sports Breakfast.
“We’ve dropped our wicketkeeper… who 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 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.”
Speaking on Sunday, Cummins wasn’t forecasting many changes and was steadfast that he wouldn’t want to change his squad even if tournament rules allowed it.
“Really happy with who we’ve got here,” Cummins said.
“There’s a couple of injuries that have forced our hand a little bit. But we wouldn’t change any of our personnel.”
Australia’s lacklustre displays have led to criticism that the team isn’t playing the Australian way. (7News)