"I heard last night" - Michael Clarke reveals selection shock for Australia ahead of crucial match in 2023 World Cup

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has stated that the Aussies are set to make a huge selection call ahead of their 2023 World Cup clash with Sri Lanka in Lucknow on Monday, October 16.

Clark revealed hearing that skipper Pat Cummins will not play against Sri Lanka. The right-arm speedster went wicketless against India and claimed only a solitary one against South Africa.

With Australia losing both matches convincingly, Cummins has come under pressure as they must quickly turn their campaign around.

On Sky Sports Radio's Big Sports Breakfast, Clark stated that this is yet another baffling call after Alex Carey was dropped against South Africa. He reckons Australia have chosen the wrong captain if Cummins faced the axe.

"I heard last night that Pat Cummins is not going to be selected for this game. We’ve dropped our wicketkeeper... who is one of the most important people in your squad. So he got one game and got dropped," he said.

"Now there’s talk we’re going to drop our captain. 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," he added.

Top-order batter Steve Smith appears as an obvious choice to lead the five-time champions if Cummins is indeed dropped. Smith did a commendable job as captain earlier this year by leading Australia to a three-game ODI series win over India.

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"Pat Cummins doesn’t captain enough games" - Michael Clarke

Michael Clarke. (Image Credits: Twitter)

Michael Clarke also underlined that Australia's preparation was far from ideal, given the lack of role clarity and around the perfect playing XI. He said:

"I heard the players say our preparation was perfect. No, no — you had enough games of cricket but you didn’t use those games. You didn’t pick your best players. You didn’t work out are we going to bat first, bowl first."

He added:

"You didn’t work out who’s playing where, you didn’t even pick your captain to let him captain some games of cricket. Pat Cummins doesn’t captain enough games. He’s in India able to play but they rested him for a game."

Should Australia face a group-stage exit this year, it will be their first since 1992.