Australia captain Pat Cummins will not play the third Test against India in Indore starting March 1 as he has decided to stay back in Sydney with his ailing mother. Steve Smith will lead the Australian side in Cummins' absence in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"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."
Cummins had flown back home after India defeated Australia in the second Test in Delhi by six wickets. He was initially supposed to return before the third Test match but now he has decided to stay back with his family and support them in this difficult time.
The Australian think tank is hopeful of Cummins' return before the final Test in Ahmedabad but if his mother's health doesn't improve then Smith will continue to lead the side.
Notably, Cummins is also supposed to lead Australia in the three-match ODI series against India starting March 17.
Like Cummins, Steve Smith too had left India following the Delhi defeat. He spent four days in Dubai with his wife Dani before re-joining the Australia squad in Delhi on Thursday evening (India time), when he was informed of Cummins' decision to remain at home for the next Test.
{{/usCountry}}Like Cummins, Steve Smith too had left India following the Delhi defeat. He spent four days in Dubai with his wife Dani before re-joining the Australia squad in Delhi on Thursday evening (India time), when he was informed of Cummins' decision to remain at home for the next Test.
{{/usCountry}}The Australian team is currently training in Delhi and will leave for Indore on Sunday.
It will be the third time that Smith will lead the Test side since his reinstatement as vice-captain in late 2021 when Cummins took over from Tim Paine. Smith has filled in as skipper for two Tests that Cummins has been unavailable for - both of which have been in Adelaide over the past two summers.
Smith was captain for 34 Tests between 2014 and 2018, including Australia's most recent Test tour of India in 2017, a controversy-marred campaign in which Smith dominated with the bat, scoring three centuries.
Smith's immediate task will be to stop India from inflicting a clean sweep which could hurt Australia's chances of making it to the World Test Championship. The Rohit Sharma-led side has already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by winning the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi quite comfortably.