Pat Cummins to miss Australia-India T20 series with Ashes in mind
Friday 22 September 2017 09:33, UK
Pat Cummins will sit out Australia's T20 series in India to help keep him fresh for this winter's Ashes series.
The fast bowler made a successful return to Test cricket in March, more than five years after injuries cut short his emergence as a teenager.
Cummins is part of the Aussie squad currently taking on India in a one-day international series, but the 24-year-old will return home once the remaining three games have been played.
"Pat has played a considerable amount of cricket this year after a long period away from the game due to injury," national selector Trevor Hohns said.
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"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 are 2-0 down in the five-match ODI series after Thursday's 50-run defeat, and captain Steve Smith has warned his batsman to improve fast.
"We've had a lot of collapses and we need to stop," he said. "When you get out in the middle you have to change what you're doing because it's not working.
"Watching the ball closer, or maybe the guys are trying to watch it too closely and forgetting about just playing the game.
"It's a hard one to put my finger on. But whatever it is, it needs to change and we need to make better decisions when we're under pressure and start playing the game properly."
India will secure the ODI series if they win Sunday's third game in Indore. The three-match T20 series begins on October 7.
