The Australian skipper has taken 309 wickets in 71 five-day games with an stellar bowling average.
Australia's selection chief Bailey has declared that skipper Cummins will be a central figure in this winter's England-Australia contest.
Speculation had been growing that the 32-year-old might sit out due to a ongoing back issue that was still troubling him.
Initial reports from the squad suggested no official announcement had been made regarding Cummins' participation, with the five-Test series set to start on the 21st of November in Western Australia.
He revealed that the captain is progressing and remained hopeful about the prospects of participating.
"It's clear that the clock is ticking and various factors around that, not only the back issue, but further aspects," the selector added.
"We're encouraged. There's strong faith that he will feature a key capacity. With luck starting in Perth. Otherwise, we'll reassess."
Past Concerns
He was sidelined the ODI and T20 games against both Asian and Trans-Tasman rivals in the previous weeks after medical tests showed a lower back issue.
There is a track record of back injuries, with setbacks in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16 leading to absences from three Australian summers in a limited period.
He emphasized he would be ""aggressive" and "take risks" in his comeback strategy to make the squad for the contest.
He mentioned that it was unclear if Cummins had begun bowling as part of his recovery but acknowledged it was "getting tight" for him to recover fully for the opener.
Backup Options
If he's unavailable, ex-skipper Smith will take over the captaincy.
Versatile player Green was recently pulled out from the ODI lineup for their limited-overs matches against the subcontinent side as a safety move because of soreness in his side.
Bailey described it as a "slight concern and stated that he's scheduled to appear in the state-level matches, so will be "well-prepared to resume bowling."
"Considerable effort has gone into creating the schedule for him to participate for the initial game as an batting and bowling option," Bailey explained.
"He was only going to play the first two ODIs anyway. His aggressive style the willow in shorter formats, if it causes any delay for a short period, the choice was made to adopt a safer strategy."
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