Pat Cummins has secured 309 Test scalps in 71 five-day games with an stellar bowling average.
Australia's chair of selectors George Bailey has stated that skipper Cummins will play a "major part" in the forthcoming historic rivalry.
There were concerns that Cummins might sit out due to a stress fracture in his back that was still troubling him.
Initial reports from team management suggested no definitive call had been made regarding whether he would play, with the Test matches kicking off on November 21 in Perth.
Bailey expressed that Cummins is "building up" and felt positive about the prospects of participating.
"We know that time is getting short and multiple considerations around that, not only the physical problem, but additional elements," the selector added.
"It's positive. We firmly believe that he will feature a significant role. With luck starting in Perth. Should that not happen, then we'll pick it up."
Previous Setbacks
The captain missed the white-ball matches against New Zealand and India recently after examinations confirmed a lumbar bone stress.
Previous incidents include of back injuries, with flare-ups in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 causing him to miss multiple domestic campaigns in four years.
He emphasized he would be bold in recovery efforts in his rehabilitation process to make the squad for the Ashes.
He mentioned that it was unclear if the captain had resumed bowling as part of his recovery but admitted it was "becoming urgent" for him to recover fully for the first Test.
Contingency Plans
Should Cummins not be fit, former captain Steve Smith will assume leadership.
All-rounder Cameron Green was withdrawn recently from Australia's squad for their limited-overs matches against the Asian giants as a precautionary measure because of an abdominal issue.
He labeled it as a "small issue and stated that he'll feature in the Sheffield Shield, so will be "ideally positioned to resume bowling."
"We put so much time has gone into developing the strategy for him to take part for the initial game as an all-rounder," Bailey explained.
"Originally, he'd only feature in the starting games anyway. The way he swings the bat in limited-overs, if it causes any delay for 24 more hours, we just made the decision to adopt a safer strategy."
Series Schedule
The Historic Rivalry
Spanning from late 2025 to early 2026
