Australia Test captain Pat Cummins is eyeing a brief return to the Sheffield Shield to tune up for the series against India which starts in late November.
Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins is likely to play one or two Sheffield Shield matches in order to set the eyes on the crucial Border Gavaskar Trophy series against India, set to take place later this year. Notably, the series between India and Australia seems extremely crucial, as it might say a lot about the finalist of the World Test Championship Final 2025.
The two sides last played Test cricket in the 2023 WTC Final, where Australia pipped Rohit Sharma and his men to win the title at the Oval in London. According to ESPNCricinfo, the 30-year-old cricketer is set to play the domestic games in November to boost preparation for the BGT series.
Cummins seems to be the latest turn to domestic cricket in order to prepare for the Test series after the Indian players who have been asked to appear in the Duleep Trophy 2025. The 2023 WTC Final-winning skipper stated that coach Andrew McDonald wanted to have a conversation about the same with the skipper. Pat Cummins said that apart from the 2-3 ODIs, he is likely to play a game or two for Shield, with a short stint for NSW to gear up for the Tests.
“Ronnie [coach Andrew McDonald] called me the other day and said we need to talk about this. I prefer to go a little bit fresher but definitely play some cricket going in. So I’d say it’s either two or three ODIs, plus a Shield [game] or maybe just some Shield, maybe some NSW one-day stuff. I imagine kind of late October/early November will be when I start playing building up for the Tests,” Cummins told News Corp.
Meanwhile, the defending champions, Australia, have seven Test matches in hand, which will determine their chances of playing in the WTC Final next year. The challenge is set to start with a gruelling five-match series against Team India in November. Then, Australia will take on Sri Lanka in a two-match tour, which will be the last and final series before the WTC Final
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