Cummins is unlikely to play a Sheffield Shield game before the five-Test series against India. He will instead get all his preparation in via 50-over cricket. He will likely play a one-day domestic fixture for New South Wales on October 25 before captaining the first ODI.
“This is our last ODI series before the Champions Trophy and the balance of the squad was focussed on that as well as continuing to focus on preparation of individuals for the upcoming Test summer,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “The one-day side had a great result in the UK particularly given illness and injury challenges. We view this is an opportunity to expand on that achievement in preparation for next February in Pakistan.”
Australia are yet to name the T20I squad for the three-match series that follows the ODIs against Pakistan. None of Australia’s Test players will play in that series which runs from November 14 to 18 as they will rest for the first Test which starts on November 22.
That will mean Australia will need a new T20I captain given Marsh, Head and Cummins won’t feature. They will also have a different coaching staff as head coach Andrew McDonald and a number of his assistants will sit out to prepare for India.
Australia ODI squad vs Pakistan
Pat Cummins (capt), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa