INDIA: Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, will not play in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, which is set to begin March 1 in Indore.
After Australia lost the second Test, Cummins took a flight to Sydney to visit his sick mother. He was expected to fly back to India for the third Test, which starts on Wednesday.
However, the 29-year-old has acknowledged that his mother’s condition will prevent him from being present for the Indore Test. Steve Smith will likely take over as series leader in his absence.
“I’ve made the decision not to go back to India at this time. I feel I am best here with my family,” Cricket.com.au cited Cummins as stating.
“I am grateful to Cricket Australia and my teammates for their unwavering support. I appreciate your cooperation,” he stated.
It was anticipated that Cummins would rejoin the team before the third test since there would be a nine-day break between tests after the three-day conclusion in Delhi.
In contrast, Smith spent four days in Dubai after the second Test with his wife Dani before rejoining the Australian team in Delhi on Thursday night.
When Cummins took over as skipper in late 2021, replacing Tim Paine, he might become Australian captain for the third time after being reinstated as vice captain.
Australia is already down 0-2 in the four-match series with India after suffering crushing losses in Nagpur and Delhi, respectively.
When Australia last visited India in 2017, Smith was the skipper. The visitors had suffered a 2-1 series loss. In Indore, Cummins would be immediately replaced by star bowler Mitchell Starc, who missed the first two Test matches.
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