Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins has announced he will be taking a two-month break from cricket. This decision comes as he prepares for the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India later this year on home soil. After making his debut in the USA’s Major League Cricket (MLC), Cummins has been granted leave from Australia’s upcoming limited-overs tour to the UK, which includes white-ball series against Scotland and England. His focus is now on managing his workload and prioritizing physical fitness ahead of a demanding summer.
Cummins has faced a grueling schedule over the past year, with commitments including the Ashes, ODI World Cup, various Test series, IPL, T20 World Cup, and most recently, the MLC campaign in the United States. This relentless run of matches has taken its toll, leading Cricket Australia to closely monitor Cummins’ workload to prevent burnout.
In an interview to Fox Cricket, the 31-year-old said, “ I’m very sore today after a week of gym, Hamstrings, even ankles, kind of build up over months of bowling, but you can’t really nail it while you’re in the midst of the season. I’ll be doing lots of gym, some running, and a lot of rehab exercises that you just can’t really fit in the middle of the season.” 
The Sydney native plans to dedicate this break to intensive gym sessions, running, and rehabilitation exercises. His goal is to reduce injury risk and ensure he can bowl longer spells while maintaining speeds above 140 km/h during the upcoming series.
Cummins Prioritizes Recovery and Fitness for Upcoming Series
He further added, “ Everyone that comes back after a break and is a little bit fresher, you never regret it. I’ve basically been bowling non-stop since the World Test Championship final, nearly 18 months ago. This gives me a good seven or eight weeks completely off bowling so the body can recover, then you start building up again for the summer. It means you can hopefully bowl for a little bit longer, maintain pace is a bit easier, make you less susceptible to injuries.”
Cummins also highlighted the importance of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which Australia has not won since 2017. The 31-year-old acknowledged India as a formidable team but remains confident in Australia’s chances of reclaiming the prestigious trophy in the historic Test series. He said, “ It’s the trophy I haven’t won before, this is the one trophy a lot of our group haven’t ticked off. We’ve achieved some amazing things over the last few years as a Test group. You kind of back yourself to win every series at home. I think you need to try and be up there in the upper echelon of teams.”
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