The Australian skipper has secured 309 Test scalps in 71 appearances with an impressive average.
Australia's selection chief the selector has declared that pace spearhead Cummins will be a central figure in the upcoming Ashes series.
Rumors had circulated that the 32-year-old might be unavailable due to a stress fracture in his back that was still troubling him.
Initial reports from the squad suggested no definitive call had been made regarding his involvement, with the five-Test series set to start on 21 November in Western Australia.
Bailey expressed that his recovery is on track and remained hopeful about the prospects of taking part.
"We know that the window is narrowing and multiple considerations at play, not only his injury, but other factors as well," he commented.
"The outlook is good. [We are] really confident that he will feature a key capacity. With luck starting in Perth. If not, we'll reassess."
Previous Setbacks
He was sidelined the white-ball matches against both Asian and Trans-Tasman rivals recently after examinations confirmed a stress reaction in his back.
There is a track record of back injuries, with setbacks in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 forcing him out of three Australian summers in a limited period.
Cummins stated he would be bold in recovery efforts in his comeback strategy to secure his spot for the contest.
Bailey noted that it was unclear if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his rehabilitation but conceded it was "getting tight" for him to regain fitness for the initial match.
Backup Options
If he's unavailable, veteran batsman Smith will take over the captaincy.
The talented all-rounder was withdrawn recently from the ODI lineup for their one-day international series against India as a precautionary measure because of soreness in his side.
Bailey described it as a "slight concern and stated that he's scheduled to appear in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "in a good place to resume bowling."
"We put so much time has gone into building out the plan for him to be available for the first Test as an dual-role player," Bailey explained.
"Originally, he'd only feature in the initial matches in any case. How he handles the bat in limited-overs, if it causes any delay for another day, we just made the decision to adopt a safer strategy."
Fixture Details
The Historic Rivalry
Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026
