- Nasima Akter
Pat Cummins Flies Home Due to Family Illness
Following Australia's loss against India in the second Test, Australia Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins flew home due to a serious family illness.
News of Cummins' departure came out on Monday, and initially, reports said it was due to personal reasons. It later came to light that Cummins was dealing with an illness in the family.
Reports say the Aussie captain will spend a few days in Sydney with his wife and family before returning to the subcontinent.
Cricket Australia released a statement on the situation on Monday. "Cummins has flown home for personal reasons due to a serious family illness," it read.
"He will return to India later this week to rejoin preparations for the third Test in Indore. We ask the media to respect his privacy."
Pat Cummins Statements Before Departure
Before Cummins flew home to return to his family, the player had plenty to say about their Test series playing so far.
"I'm probably as much to blame as anyone else there," Cummins said in his post-match press conference. "Two big things we talk about is the tempo of the game and the method."
Aside from this, he said, “Everyone controls their own game, some balls just have your name. But I think there will be a review. Shot choice, did we go about it the right way?”
The last thing reported on Cummins before the conference and his departure was that he gifted Cheteshwar Pujara with a signed Test jersey of the Australian team to commemorate Pujara's 100th Test match.
Team's Australia's Status
Currently, India takes the lead 2-0 in the ongoing Test series between India and Australia (Border-Gasvaskar Trophy). In the first Test of the series, India won an innings and 132 runs. India won the second Test in Delhi by six wickets.
The third Test between India and Australia will be played at Holkar Stadium in Indore from March 1 to March 5.
So far, it's confirmed that senior paceman Josh Hazlewood is ruled out of the next Test matches and will return home. Meanwhile, veteran opener David Warner’s return is undetermined after he suffered a concussion during the first Test matches.
Cricket Australia is adamant no decision has been made at this stage to send Warner home. However, Warner's availability for the rest of the series ultimately depends on his recovery from the hairline fracture.
When interviewed about Warner, coach, and selector Andrew McDonald stated, “He’s still sore at the moment. We had a meeting just before discussing through this. We’re in no rush to make any decisions at this point in time around Davey.”
Aside from Warner, McDonald said Cameron Green is available but Mitchell Starc is still working to full fitness from his finger injury.
For now, both teams are enjoying an additional couple of days break since India won the second Test within three days.
Team India's Status So Far
Recently, the BCCI announced Team India's squads for the third and fourth Tests, plus the three-match ODI series. So far, India has an unchanged squad for the final two Tests against the visitors. However, it was confirmed that Jaydev Unadkat is returning for future matches.
