Pat Cummins will be given as long as possible to recover from an ankle injury so he can captain Australia in the Champions Trophy.
The star quick will miss Australia's two-Test series against Sri Lanka, mainly due to the birth of his second child, but also to rest after the gruelling battle for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
But Cummins has been included in Australia's preliminary 15-man squad for the tournament in Pakistan.
Chairman of selectors George Bailey is confident the 31-year-old will be available, with Australia's first game against England on February 22.
Cummins recently had a scan on his ankle but Bailey was unsure was the results of that were.
"I want to give him a little bit of space at the back end of the Border-Gavaskar; obviously baby pending," Bailey said.
"We'll work through that with Pat and obviously the selection panel and the medical team ... but I know he's very keen."
Under ICC guidelines, Australia needed to name a squad on Monday, but can change it for injuries at any time before the tournament starts.
Bailey said there was no timeline on when a final call would be made on Cummins' fitness.
Star quick Josh Hazlewood has been named after missing three of the five Border-Gavaskar Tests due to injury.
Hazlewood will continue to recover and miss the Tests in Sri Lanka, but will return for a one-off ODI in the country following the red-ball series.
Aggressive young opener Jake Fraser-McGurk played five ODIs for Australia last year, but has been left out of the squad.
Fraser-McGurk has endured a difficult domestic season after dominating in the Indian Premier League last season.
The 22-year-old is averaging just 10.75 for the Melbourne Renegades in the current edition of the Big Bash League.
"As far as Jake goes, he's still still very young, we know that's going to be a journey," Bailey said.
"The skill set is still incredibly exciting."
Australia have not won the Champions Trophy since 2009, with India and Pakistan having triumphed in the two editions since then.
Mitch Marsh, who was recently axed from the Test squad, is Australia's vice-captain in the one-day format, having become skipper of the T20 team.
Bailey would not confirm if Marsh would captain Australia at the Champions Trophy should Cummins miss the tournament.
Test keeper Alex Carey will travel to Pakistan, despite being usurped by Josh Inglis as Australia's white-ball glovesman during the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Carey played in the same XI as Inglis during an ODI in England last year.
Veteran allrounder Marcus Stoinis, who turned down a state contract with Western Australia and doesn't play domestic one-day cricket anymore, has also been included in Australia's Champions Trophy squad.
AUSTRALIA: Pat Cummins (capt), Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.
