In a major blow to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), their star all-rounder Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) owing to a hip injury.
The Australian Test captain is expected to return to Sydney after suffering a hip injury, as reported by cricket.com.au.
Cummins, who was roped in by KKR for a whopping Rs 7.25 crore in the IPL mega auction, snared seven wickets, including a match-winning 3/22 against the Mumbai Indians. With the bat, he scored 63 runs, which includes a blazing 14-ball 56 not out against Mumbai Indians, the joint highest fifty in the history of the IPL, last month.
The right-armer has admitted he has been short of his best during this year's IPL and was dropped after going at 12 runs per over during his first four games, with Kolkata preferring Tim Southee.
The KKR team management, however, is yet to confirm the development. KKR are on the brink of elimination, having just 10 points from 12 games.
Shreyas Iyer and his team will face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday.
Cummins' recovery is only expected to take a fortnight. It had already been announced he would miss the three T20 Internationals that begin the six-week long tour of Sri Lanka.
Besides leading the Test side, Cummins is also a vital member of the ODI and T20 teams as Australia is set to embark on a hectic 18-month-long cricket calendar.
The Sri Lanka tour will be followed by Australia's T20 World Cup title defence at home, a five-Test home summer, a Test tour of India and an away Ashes campaign.
The Aussies will then return to India for the ODI World Cup in October 2023.
Cummins, along with other leading Australian players, will unquestionably have to prioritise some series at the expense of others, especially as he continues to adjust to the demands of being Test captain, the role he assumed at the beginning of the home Ashes summer just gone.
