Pat Cummins returns to Australia for personal reasons, Smith might lead in 3rd Test

Australia cricket team captain Pat Cummins has reportedly traveled back to his country due to personal reasons following the six-wicket loss in the second Test match against India in Delhi. The Indian team yet again dominated the Aussies to clinch yet another victory in three days, similar to the win by an innings and 132 runs in the series opener. As reported by ESPN Cricinfo, the 29-year-old captain has now headed back home due to a serious family health issue.

Reports claim Cummins has returned to Sydney for a few days and is expected to come back to India in time ahead of the third Test match in Indore. While the third Test begins on March 1, vice-captain Steve Smith is the leading candidate to captain the side. It is pertinent to mention that Cummins was the lone pacer in the Aussie side for the second Test. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian squad has already retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy and leads the series 2-0, heading into the Indore Test.

Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 Full Schedule

India vs Australia 1st Test from February 9 to 13 at VCA Stadium, Nagpur

India vs Australia 2nd Test from February 17 to 21 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

India vs Australia 3rd Test from March 1 to 5 at Holkar Stadium, Indore

India vs Australia 4th Test from March 9 to 13 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

India vs Australia Four-match Test series: Full Squads

Australia’s squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav