Srinagar: With a focus on to grab Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, Australia Test Captain Pat Cummins has taken eight week break to prepare for the Test series.
Fresh off his debut stint in Major League Cricket in the United States, Cummins has opted for rest and recuperation, stepping away from next month’s white-ball tour of the United Kingdom.
Cummins believes his absence from the UK tour will enable him to address any physical strains and return to peak condition, aiming to lead Australia effectively in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The series will be particularly critical for the Aussies, as they have conceded successive series defeats to India at home (in 2018/19 and 2020/21).
“Everyone that comes back after a break is a little bit fresher, you never regret it,” Cummins was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
“I’ve basically been bowling non-stop since the World Test Championship final, nearly 18 months ago. This gives me a good seven or eight weeks completely off bowling so the body can recover, then you start building up again for the summer”.
“It means you can hopefully bowl for a little bit longer, maintaining pace is a bit easier, makes you less susceptible to injuries,” he added.
“It’s the trophy I haven’t won before… this is the one trophy a lot of our group haven’t ticked off,” Cummins said.
“We’ve achieved some amazing things over the last few years as a Test group. You kind of back yourself to win every series at home. I think you need to try and be up there in the upper echelon of teams.
“That’s what lies ahead of us this summer. They’re (India) a really good side. We play them quite a lot, we know them really well, but we feel like we’re really well placed also,” he added.