Pat Cummins resumes bowling, eyes comeback in IPL 2025 for Sunrisers Hyderabad
Australia skipper Pat Cummins has started bowling as his rehab for an ankle injury continues. Cummins has been away from action since the Test series against India ended and is also not playing the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins has returned to bowling as he eyes a comeback to the field again in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). For the unversed, Cummins was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the auction and will continue to lead the team in IPL 2025. Notably, Australia will also play the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) in June against South Africa and Cummins' fitness will be crucial for that clash.
The Aussie captain has been on the sidelines since the conclusion of the five-match Test series against India in January 2025. During the series, his ankle injury flared up but he kept playing with an aim to help Australia regain the Border Gavaskar Trophy. However, he missed the following Sri Lanka tour and the subsequent Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Now that he has returned to bowling, Cummins is again eager to get back on the field and has revealed that the plan is to return for IPL. "The ankle is all going strong, [have been] able to give it a good rest and then been building up slowly, which you don't get to do when you play lots of cricket. It's feeling as strong as it has for a fair while. Should be fine [for the IPL], that's the plan. So have a few weeks of bowling, building back up and then hopefully don't have to worry about it for a while," Cummins said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
Cummins is pretty confident about building his workload in the lead-up to the IPL and is also eyeing playing four Test matches on the trot including the three-match Test series against the West Indies that follows the WTC Final. He might miss some white-ball matches with the Ashes scheduled to take place at home later this year.
"Sometimes by missing the odd tour, you actually end up playing more cricket for the whole year. I think in the past you used to play everything, whereas now, absolutely, you try and make sure the players are at their peak for as long as you can for the year and to play as much of the important stuff each year. It's just the way of the world. Everyone's used to it," Cummins added.