The pace bowler has taken over 300 dismissals in 71 five-day games with an stellar bowling average.
The Australian selection chief George Bailey has declared that skipper Cummins will be a central figure in the forthcoming England-Australia contest.
Rumors had circulated that the 32-year-old might miss the series due to a stress fracture in his back that remained unresolved.
Previous updates from the squad suggested no official announcement had been made regarding whether he would play, with the five-Test series kicking off on November 21 in the WACA.
Bailey expressed that the captain is progressing and remained hopeful about the likelihood of taking part.
"We're aware that time is getting short and various factors involved, not only the physical problem, but further aspects," he commented.
"It's positive. There's strong faith that he will feature a major part. Hopefully it's the first Test. Should that not happen, we'll reassess."
Injury History
The captain missed Australia's limited-overs series against New Zealand and India last month after examinations confirmed a stress reaction in his back.
There is a track record of recurring issues, with recurrences in multiple past seasons forcing him out of several home seasons in a short span.
The bowler mentioned he would be bold in recovery efforts in his rehabilitation process to ensure his availability for the Ashes.
He mentioned that he did not know if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his comeback but admitted it was "getting tight" for him to recover fully for the opener.
Alternative Arrangements
If he's unavailable, ex-skipper Smith will take over the captaincy.
All-rounder Cameron Green was excluded lately from the ODI lineup for their ODI contests against the Asian giants as a precautionary measure because of an abdominal issue.
The selector characterized it as a "slight concern and mentioned that Green will play in the domestic first-class competition, 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 take part for the initial game as an dual-role player," Bailey explained.
"He was only going to play the first two ODIs anyway. How he handles the bat in limited-overs, if it causes any delay for a short period, we just made the decision to approach this more conservatively."
Series Schedule
The Ashes: Australia v England
Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026
