The pace bowler has claimed 309 wickets in 71 five-day games with an average of 22.10.
Australia's chair of selectors George Bailey has confirmed that pace spearhead Cummins will play a "major part" in the upcoming Ashes series.
There were concerns that Cummins might miss the series due to a stress fracture in his back that had not yet healed.
Previous updates from the squad suggested no official announcement had been made regarding whether he would play, with the Test matches kicking off on 21 November in Perth.
The selector shared that the captain is progressing and remained hopeful about his chances of participating.
"We know that time is getting short and multiple considerations at play, aside from the back issue, but further aspects," the selector added.
"It's positive. There's strong faith that he will feature a key capacity. With luck from the opening match. If not, we'll adjust."
Injury History
The captain missed Australia's limited-overs series against both Asian and Trans-Tasman rivals in the previous weeks after scans revealed a lumbar bone stress.
Previous incidents include of spinal problems, with flare-ups in multiple past seasons forcing him out of several home seasons in a short span.
He emphasized he would be bold in recovery efforts in his comeback strategy to make the squad for the Ashes.
He mentioned that it was unclear if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his comeback but conceded it was "becoming urgent" for him to regain fitness for the opener.
Backup Options
If he's unavailable, ex-skipper Smith will lead the side.
The talented all-rounder was excluded lately from the national team for their limited-overs matches against India as a precautionary measure because of soreness in his side.
The selector characterized it as a "slight concern and mentioned that he's scheduled to appear in the state-level matches, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."
"We put so much time has gone into building out the plan for him to participate for the initial game as an batting and bowling option," he elaborated.
"Originally, he'd only feature in the starting games regardless. How he handles the cricket bat in white-ball cricket, even if it just sets him back for a short period, we just made the decision to take a cautious route."
Series Schedule
The Ashes: Australia v England
Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026
