Test skipper Pat Cummins will take an eight-week break to refresh ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy battle against India later this year. Just back from his maiden stint in Major League Cricket in the United States, Cummins will not travel for the white-ball tour of the UK next month as workload management and physical recovery are put on par with preparations for a full summer ahead.
"Everyone that comes back after a break is a little bit fresher, you never regret it," Cummins told Fox Sports. "I've pretty much bowled non-stop since the World Test Championship final, which is getting on for 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."
Cummins has been pretty busy of late, working his way back from a wrist fracture sustained towards the end of the Ashes series in England. Those, in fact, involved an ODI series against India, the triumph at the ODI World Cup, three Tests against Pakistan, two against the West Indies, a T20 tour of New Zealand, two Tests against New Zealand, the Indian Premier League, the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, and then the MLC tournament.
"I'm very sore today after a week of gym. Hamstrings, even ankles, kind of build up over months of bowling, but you can't really nail it while you're in the midst of the season," said the 31-year-old. "I'll be doing lots of gym, some running, a lot of rehab exercise that you just can't really fit in the middle of the season."
This year's Border-Gavaskar Trophy will feature five Tests. The Aussies haven't won this trophy since 2017; India has taken four series in a row, including those historic wins in Australia in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 series. Cummins is keen to raise the trophy as captain. "It's the trophy that I haven't won before. this is the one trophy a lot of our group haven't ticked off," he 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 are 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."
But Cummins still doesn't want to back down from T20 cricket. He has a strong dream to make Australia champions at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the event's maiden cricket appearance. "Watching the Olympics, got all of us pretty excited. You want to be part of it right there in the middle", said Cummins. "I'd love to be on that side, you know, at LA28. I think I will be 35 or something, so hopefully still there or thereabouts. Honestly right now, it feels a long way away. Maybe once we get closer and start building into it, everyone gets a bit more excited," he added.
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