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Australia’s Test and ODI captain, Pat Cummins, has shared insights into his recent injury and the potential timeline for his return to international cricket. Cummins sustained a wrist fracture during the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval (July 27-31) and has been advised to rest for a period of six weeks to facilitate his recovery.
The injury setback places Cummins’ return around mid-September, coinciding with the ODI series against South Africa scheduled to take place from September 7 to 17. While the fast bowler is expected to travel to South Africa for this leg of the tour, it appears likely that he will not be participating in the matches against the Proteas. Instead, Cummins is targeting his comeback during the ODI series against India, which precedes the ODI World Cup.
Also READ:Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins to lead Australia’s T20I and ODI squads in South Africa tour
Cummins provides an update to his injury
Recalling the moment of injury, Cummins remarked, “It hurt day one when I did it and it hurt a lot when I was batting, but I didn’t think it was too bad.” He elaborated, “Then with each day it got a little bit sorer so I knew it was probably bone as opposed to a muscle (issue).”
As for his anticipated return, Cummins conveyed his optimistic outlook, saying, “I’ll head over to South Africa at the back-end of that leg. But we’re probably looking more at those one-dayers ahead of the World Cup. It shouldn’t be too bad. Another few weeks and it’ll be right.”
In the midst of his recovery, there have been speculations surrounding the possibility of a new captain leading Australia’s white-ball teams after the ODI World Cup. Cummins indicated that he hasn’t extensively pondered this scenario, emphasizing that the focus remains on the upcoming World Cup campaign. Mitchell Marsh, recently appointed T20I captain for the series in South Africa, is being considered as a potential candidate to lead the 50-over side as well, especially in Cummins’ absence.
“I haven’t thought about it too much to be honest. We will play this World Cup and then assess it after that. The good thing is we’ve got a few options. (Marsh) is probably the most obvious one if he’s doing the T20s as well,” Cummins stated.
