IND vs AUS, 3rd Test: Pat Cummins Ruled Out Due To Personal Reasons, Steve Smith Likely To Lead Australia vs India In Indore
New Delhi: Australia skipper Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Cummins, who left for Sydney after the second Test due to family reasons will not return to India before the third Test in Indore from March 1. Notably, Cummins’ mother is unwell and the Australian captain wants to spend time with her.
“I have decided against returning to India at this time as my mother is ill and in palliative care. I feel I am best being here with my family,” Cummins said on Friday as quoted by smh.com.au.
“I appreciate the overwhelming support I have received from Cricket Australia and my teammates. Thanks for your understanding.”
This is a massive blow for Australia who have already lost a bunch of players due to injuries. The likes of David Warner, Josh Hazlewood, Ashton Agar, and Matt Renshaw have been ruled out of the series.
Meanwhile, Steve Smith, who is Cummins’ deputy on the India tour is all set to lead Australia again. This will be the third occasion of Steve Smith leading Australia since being appointed as Australia’s vice-captain in 2021.
Smith was Australia’s captain on the team’s previous tour to India in 2017. The visitors gave India a tough fight and won the first Test in Pune. India though bounced back to win the series 2-1.
The only positive news for Australia right now is that all-rounder Cameron Green and veteran pacer Mitchell Starc are set to return for the third Test. Australia are 2-0 down in the series, having being hammered by the Rohit Sharma-led side in Nagpur and Delhi.
Cummins has not had the best of series either and looked a bit out of sorts in the first two Test matches. Known to use the short ball to good effect, Cummins had hardly used it in Nagpur and Delhi, except for a couple of occasions and immediately got good results in Nagpur where Ravichandran Ashwin looked a bit unsettled against short ball.
The Australia captain, is however, expected to come back to India for the fourth Test that will soon be followed by a three-match ODI series.