Cummins, Australia’s Test and ODI captain, was ruled out of the ongoing Champions Trophy due to an ankle injury he managed during the Test series against India but told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday that he was heading for the first bowl of his rehab.
“The ankle is all going strong, [have been] able to give it a good rest and then been building up slowly, which you don’t get to do when you play lots of cricket,” Cummins said. “It’s feeling as strong as it has for a fair while. Should be fine [for the IPL], that’s the plan. So have a few weeks of bowling, building back up and then hopefully don’t have to worry about it for a while.”
Cummins, an ambassador for Prime who are the exclusive broadcasters for the Champions Trophy in Australia, said his ankle is something he has had to manage on an ongoing basis and it began to become a bit more of an issue during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
“It’s something that we’ve opted never to have surgery on or intervene too much, just a lot to rehab,” he explained. “Having this break meant that I could get a couple of cortisones and really rehab it well the last couple of weeks.”
Cummins is confident he will be able to build his workload during the IPL and is eyeing playing a full role in the three-Test series against West Indies which follows the WTC final. There is a chance he will miss some of Australia’s white-ball matches ahead of the Ashes – there are five T20Is in West Indies then series against South Africa, New Zealand and India – before facing England from late November.
“Sometimes by missing the odd tour, you actually end up playing more cricket for the whole year,” he said. “I think in the past you used to play everything, whereas now, absolutely, you try and make sure the players are at their peak for as long as you can for the year and to play as much of the important stuff each year. It’s just the way of the world. Everyone’s used to it.”
“[Nathan] has always been so valuable in that he can bowl at any stage,” Cummins said. “He doesn’t necessarily need to take the new ball to have big impact. He can bowl through the middle and at the end.”
“He’s been on almost every Australian tour for about the last four years running drinks. So we’ve always known his quality and scoring two hundreds in different formats in the last month is amazing,” Cummins said. “He’s so dynamic. You can bat him anywhere in the order. He can take down spin. He can also finish off an innings with all his different shots. Just someone who’s coming into a real sweet spot in his career.”
“I think you’re open to anything at the moment,” he said. “[Inglis and Carey] are two of the most in-form guys. They’re straight into that ODI side together and it’s no issue. We’ve picked two allrounders before. Picked two keepers in Sri Lanka. I don’t see any reason why they can’t coexist if they’re both scoring runs.”
After the Champions Trophy, the next major men’s white-ball event is next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka followed by the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Australia will be defending the title they won in India and Cummins still has his sights set on leading them at that event.
“It comes around pretty quick, we’re already almost halfway,” he said. “That’s definitely what we’ve been speaking to. Obviously, when it’s a long way away, Test cricket and other [tournaments] take priorities. But once it gets a bit closer, that becomes a bit more of a focus.”
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo