Australia Test captain Pat Cummins will stay home with his mother who is in palliative care. In his absence, vice-captain Steve Smith will assumed captaincy duties for the third Test scheduled to be played in Indore from March 1.
Cummins flew home to Sydney following the conclusion of the 2nd Test in Delhi to deal with a serious health concern in his family and it’s emerged that it was his mother who has been taken ill.
Cummins said he will not be returning to India to be with his mother who “is ill and in palliative care”.
“I have decided against returning to India at this time,” said Cummins. “I feel I am best being here with my family. I appreciate the overwhelming support I have received from Cricket Australia and my teammates. Thanks for your understanding.”
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Meanwhile, Smith had flown to Dubai following the second Test to spend some time with his wife Dani. He returned on Thursday to link up with the Australia squad and was then informed about Cummins not returning for the Indore Test.
The rest of the Australian squad was made aware of the development on Friday morning as they remain in Delhi to continue their training at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Before being removed as captain, Smith led Australia for 34 Tests between 2014 and 2018. The 2018 ball-tampering scandal resulted in him losing the role to Tim Paine before it went to Cummins.
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This will be the third occasion when Smith will lead Australia in Test cricket since he was appointed vice-captain in 2021. As per cricket.com.au, the star batter could end up captaining in the remaining two matches should Cummins opt against resuming the India tour.
Australia are aiming to draw level in the four-match series after losing the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi. Both the contests ended inside three days with India retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
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