Cummins Aims for Return During October’s T20I Tour of New Zealand

JAMAICA: Australian Test team captain Pat Cummins will be absent from the upcoming white-ball series against South Africa in August. This decision is part of his preparations for the home summer season and the highly anticipated Ashes series later in the year.

Cummins, along with Mitchell Starc and Travis Head, had already been excused from the current five-match T20I series against the West Indies.

Additionally, fast bowler Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Spencer Johnson have been withdrawn from the T20I portion of the South Africa tour. Xavier Bartlett and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been named as their replacements.

Hazlewood is slated to participate in the ODIs during the South Africa series, which will be held across Darwin, Cairns, and Mackay, but will not play in the T20Is.

In the meantime, Cummins will begin a conditioning period that emphasizes strength exercises and recuperation as opposed to match play.

During a press conference in Jamaica, Cummins stated that he intends to be back in action for the brief T20I trip to New Zealand in early October.

“For the next six weeks or so, I’ll have a solid training schedule,” Cummins stated.

“While I probably won’t be bowling, I’ll be doing a lot of gym work. My body is feeling quite good, but there are always minor adjustments to be made before ramping up for the summer.”

It is worth noting that he did not participate in the Shield competition before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last season. Although Cummins is still the official ODI captain for Australia, he has only captained the team twice in the format after their World Cup victory in 2023.

He also had to sit out the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year due to an ankle problem that lingered during the Test series against India.

Notably, the T20I series against the West Indies commences on July 20 with a pair of matches at Sabina Park, after which the last three will be held in St Kitts.