Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne to be dropped? Pat Cummins hints at brutal overhaul after WTC Final loss

Australia National Cricket Team skipper Pat Cummins has hinted at a major overhaul in the batting order of the Test team after the loss in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 Final.

Pat Cummins said that Australia's next series against West Indies will be part of the new ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, and with a fresh start, changes might be happening in the Test setup.

Also Read: Steve Smith breaks silence on horror injury in WTC Final, ruled out of....

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Australia's batting order flops in WTC Final

Heading into the ICC World Test Championship Final against South Africa, Australia were favorites, mainly because of their glittering ICC record and a legendary bowling unit consisting of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon.

Australia's batting unit also had the champion pedigree with a plethora of experienced and game-changing batters present, but all of them failed miserably in the ICC World Test Championship Final.

In the first innings, Usman Khawaja (0), Marnus Labuschagne (17), Cameron Green (4), Travis Head (11), and Alex Carey (23) failed, while Steve Smith (66) and Beau Webster (72) were the only good performers as Australia got bowled out for 212.

In the second innings, Usman Khawaja (6), Marnus Labuschagne (22), Cameron Green (0), Steve Smith (13), Travis Head (9), and Beau Webster (9) failed miserably. Pacer Mitchell Starc (58*) made an amazing contribution with the bat while wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey scored 43 runs to take Australia to 207 runs.

Australia gave South Africa a 282-run target, which they easily chased down with 5 wickets in hand to win the WTC Final. Following Australia's defeat, the likes of Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne are under scrutiny, and their place in the team might be in danger.

Never going to be easy for the top three - Pat Cummins

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Pat Cummins said that Australia's top-3 wished they had performed better and added that the team management would make a call on their future soon. He said:

“Losing the toss on day one and being sent into bat is never going to be easy for the top three. But yeah, I think there’s probably quite a few people in the line-up that kind of wish they could have done a little bit more and the top three was an obvious one in this game.

"It does feel like a little bit of a fresh start. Do we feel like now’s the right time to change or do you hold with the team that got us to the final? I think we’ve got a couple of weeks before the first test of the Windies so I think we’ll sit down and have a bit of a think after we digest this game."

But for me I think a new WTC cycle in some ways does feel like a bit of a reset - Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins further said that the start of the new ICC World Test Championship cycle with the series in the West Indies gives Australia a chance to reassess and reset. He also stated that the likes of Sam Konstas, Josh Inglis, and Scott Boland might be slotted in the playing XI for the matches in the Caribbean.

“But for me I think a new WTC cycle in some ways does feel like a bit of a reset. Coming to this match you’ve got guys like Sam Konstas and Scotty Boland, Josh Inglis all those guys who are right on the fringes so I think again after this Test match everyone gets thrown back into the conversation and it’s a little bit of a reset for that first Test," he added.