In the upcoming three-match ODI series against India, Steve Smith will continue to serve as Australia’s captain because Pat Cummins has chosen not to go back to the subcontinent.
After the second Test in Delhi, Cummins took a flight home to see his sick mother. Prior to the third Test in Indore, the pacer was scheduled to fly to India, but he opted to stay with his ailing mother, who recently passed away.
Cummins won’t be replaced in the lineup, giving Australia a choice of 15 players for the three-match series, which begins on Friday in Mumbai. Before to this, Jhye Richardson suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury, thus Nathan Ellis was called up to fill in for him.
Australia will have had four different captains in their past five ODIs, with Steve Smith heading the team. Aaron Finch announced his retirement during the September series against New Zealand, and Cummins was named as his replacement.
As he was rested for the second game of the series against England in November, Josh Hazlewood stepped in to fill the vacancy. Hazlewood couldn’t play in the Test series because of an Achilles injury, so he wasn’t a good option in this situation. In 51 ODIs, Smith has served as the captain of Australia.
In the second One-Day International against India, Steve Smith will lead Australia. Once his mother passed away, Pat Cummins decided to stay at home, according to head coach Andrew McDonald.
Prior to Friday’s first ODI in Mumbai, McDonald stated that their thoughts are with Cummins and his family through this difficult time.
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
