Steve Smith will continue to lead Australia in the upcoming three-match ODI series against India as Pat Cummins has decided against returning to the subcontinent.
Cummins returned home after the second Test in Delhi to be with his mother who was fighting cancer. It was expected that the pacer would return to India before the third Test in Indore but he did not as he decided to stay with his ill mother who recently passed away.
With Cummins in Australia, Steve Smith led Australia in the third and fourth Test and did a brilliant job as a captain. He guided his team to a famous win in the third Test before the fourth match ended in a drab draw at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Steve Smith to lead Australia in ODIs:
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald, on Monday, confirmed that Cummins won’t return to India for the ODIs and Steve Smith will be leading the team.
“Pat won’t be coming back, he’s still taking care of what’s happened back home. “Our thoughts are with Pat and his family as they go through that grieving process,” McDonald was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.au.
Australia have not named a replacement for Cummins in the 15-man squad. He is the second player who will miss the series after being named in the squad. The first one is Jhye Richardson who was ruled out due to a hamstring injury. Richardson was later replaced by Nathan Ellis.
The upcoming series will be an important one for both the teams as it will give them an opportunity to test themselves in conditions where the ODI World Cup is scheduled to be played later this year. The three-match series is scheduled to begin from March 17 in Mumbai.
Australia squad:
Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa