Australia pacer Pat Cummins, on Friday, was asked by Cricket Australia to skip the three-match Twenty20 International series to prepare for the 2017-’18 Ashes, which will be played Down Under.
Cummins, whose career has been plagued with several injury problems since making his debut in 2011, made his way back into the Australian fold earlier in the year during the Border-Gavaskar Test series in India. The 24-year-old, despite not being among the wickets, has been impressive, regularly putting the Indian batsmen on the defensive during the ongoing One-day International series.
“Pat has played a considerable amount of cricket this year after a long period away from the game due to injury,” Cricket Australia selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement. “His body has handled the return to international cricket well, but we believe the best plan for him ahead of the Ashes Series is to return home to refresh, both mentally and physically, before he prepares for Sheffield Shield cricket.”
Australia had used a similar ploy with former pacer Mitchell Johnson in 2013. Incidentally, the left-armer was also sent home to prepare for the 2013-’14 Ashes when the five-time world champions were in India for a limited-overs series. Johnson would go on to demolish England during that series, picking up 37 wickets at a stunning 13.97 a piece as Australia completed a 5-0 whitewash.
Australia now face a must-win situation going into the third ODI at Indore after losing their first two matches. After the five-match ODI series, India and Australia also play three T20s.