Australian Test captain Pat Cummins is making strides toward recovery as he aims for his return to competitive cricket during the much-anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Cummins has recently faced significant challenges, having missed key tournaments and tours due to injury and personal commitments.
The Australian skipper was absent from the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), the tour to Sri Lanka, and the Champions Trophy, largely due to the birth of his second child and nagging ankle issues. While welcoming his daughter Edi earlier this month, Cummins expressed his excitement about family time, stating it had been "an amazing month or so just having full focus on family time and not having to do too much training or have my eye on a tour. Just being totally present has been really special."
His ankle injury, sustained during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he bowled 167 overs and took 25 wickets—making him the leading wicket-taker of the series—has been a setback. Still, Cummins is confident about returning to the pitch. "The ankle is starting to come good. It is a funny one—it’s not like a hamstring, where you need six weeks (to recover). It is just one of those ones where it needs a bit (more) rest to settle down. I have been doing loads of rehab and trying to build back up slowly," he explained.
The Indian Premier League is set to kick off on March 22, and Cummins is hopeful this tournament will serve as the perfect preparation for his upcoming assignments, especially the WTC final against South Africa at Lord's from June 11 onwards. "That’s the aim. It’s four overs in T20s, so physically it’s quite a nice build-up for the World Test Championship final, and then the Test matches after," he commented, showing optimism for the workload and challenges the IPL presents.
Prior to his injury, Cummins had successfully led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to the finals of IPL 2024, and he remains committed to his role. He noted, "The good thing about a T20 tournament is the intensity is really high, so it definitely helps quite a bit. But maybe during the back half of the tournament, bowl extra balls in warm-ups and nets to make sure my body is used to the pace of bowling quite a bit. I feel like it’s different now being 30 versus my early 20s; my body has had plenty of balls and is pretty hardened now."
Cummins’s perspective on managing his recovery emphasizes the careful balance needed for fast bowlers returning from competitive breaks, reinforcing the importance of progressively stepping back to normal training routines. He remarked, "Once you have time off, you need to start running again, then bowling, and step-by-step build up your capacity. So, we just ran out of time for the Pakistan tour. It’s not necessarily something new or long-term, but it's just one of those issues you need to manage effectively. A bit of break now will hopefully set up my playing time for the next year or so.”
Despite missing out on viewing his teammates during the Sri Lanka Test series, Cummins said he thoroughly enjoyed catching up with the games from home, remarking, "It was weird watching the Sri Lanka Test series. I haven't seen the boys play on TV really for years, and they looked fantastic; they were basically faultless. I could follow along and just enjoy it, really," indicating not only camaraderie but also his competitive spirit as he anticipates returning to the field.
His upcoming commitments extend beyond the IPL, as he is expected to lead Australia against South Africa and then on the following tour to the West Indies. The much-anticipated WTC final aims to solidify Australia’s stature and combat the pressures of high-stake matches.
Meanwhile, during Cummins's absence, Australia’s team composed of younger talent is poised to step up, with stand-in captain Steve Smith making statements to the press about maintaining focus and high standards even without his leading pacers. Smith said earlier, “We haven’t done well historically at the Champions Trophy compared to other ICC events. The pressure of playing tournaments has always brought out the best, so we hope this will be another opportunity to shine for the younger players.”
Spearheaded by Cummins upon his return, the Australian cricket team looks forward to demonstrating resilience and depth, especially as future fixtures grow increasingly demanding.