Australia regular captain Pat Cummins will likely to miss the upcoming Sri Lanka tour where the Baggy Greens will play two Test matches later this month in the Island nation. He will stay in Australia to be present for the birth of his second child.
Australia will play two Test match series against Sri Lanka where the first Test will start from January 29 and the second clash will take place from February 6, around the same time his wife -- Becky -- is due to give birth.
According to a report by Code Sports, the designated skipper, Pat Cummins will miss at least the first game due to the birth of his second child. This means that the role of captaining the side in Cummins’ absence will be something that needs to be cleared out.
“In just over three weeks’ time Australia will then step out in Galle for the first Test against Sri Lanka and former captain Smith is likely to return to lead his country once more with Pat Cummins set to miss at least the first match for the birth of his second child," the report claims.
"It's pretty hard to plan exactly the day, but definitely (I might miss the Sri Lanka tour)," Cummins told 'The Daily Telegraph' at the launch of the Pink Test, starting here on Friday.
Steve Smith who captained Australia in 38 Test matches will most likely to lead the side. The star has not been Australia’s full-time skipper since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in their tour of South Africa. Smith last captained Australia in Tests during the India tour on March 2023.
Pat Cummins is currently leading Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 where they are leading 2-1 after the fourth Test match. Both India and Australia are currently in Sydney for the fifth Test match of the series which is scheduled to take from January 3 to 7 at Sydney Cricket Ground. The upcoming Test match is important for both teams to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final scheduled to take place in England later this year.