Seasoned pacer Pat Cummins was initially expected to miss only the first few games of the T20 World Cup, but an injury setback has ruled him out of the entire tournament. It was collectively decided not to rush him, as he is the captain of the Test and ODI teams and a key player across formats. Ben Dwarshuis was named as his replacement in the squad.
While speaking to AAP, Cummins reflected on missing the World Cup and said, “It was really unfortunate. I feel pretty good, just a minor setback and ran out of time, really. I’ll rest up for a few weeks and go from there. We knew after the [Adelaide] Test match that we were going to need somewhere between four and eight weeks to let the bone settle right down before then building back up.”
Cummins also opened up about the initial plans, saying, “Initially, we thought it might only be four weeks because I was feeling really good, but I just had a follow-up scan. They thought it probably needs another couple of weeks, so the timeline just became a bit too tight.”
In August, Australia will host Bangladesh, followed by a tour of South Africa and a home Test series against New Zealand. The 2023 WTC final winners will then tour India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Reflecting on this packed schedule, Cummins added, “We thought the first half of the year was a pretty good time to be conservative, with the amount of cricket that’s coming up. We’ll get it right, and then hopefully that will mean you won’t have to worry about it and can just go out and play all those Test matches. Whereas, if you’re not careful with it now and it flares up, you’re chasing your tail a bit.”
Although he will miss the World Cup, Cummins is likely to take full part in this year’s IPL, where he will be leading Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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