While Australia captain Pat Cummins was excited for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, destiny it seems, had other ideas. Cummins left for home after the conclusion of the second Test match of the four-match series in Nagpur on learning about the deteriorating health of his mother. On March 10, 2023 Cummins' mum Maria Cummins breathed her last losing a battle to a prolonged illness.
After not playing any part in the Test series post the second match of the India tour, Cummins decided to remain with his family during the hard times. And now the fast bowler has shared a heartfelt Instagram post remembering his mother, sharing pictures with her at important junctures in his life.
"Love you Mum. Forever in our hearts ❤️," he captioned the post.
Check out Cummins' post here:
In the absence of Cummins, it is Steve Smith who has been leading the Kangaroos in India. While Smith-led Australia first came back in the Test series winning the match in Indore to seal a berth in the World Test Championship final before playing out a draw in Ahmedabad, he saw Australia lose by 5 wickets in the series opener at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
India were also without the services of their regular captain Rohit Sharma in the 1st ODI due to a family commitment as the Men in Blue saw Hardik Pandya make his captaincy debut in this format. Rohit, however, will return to lead the team in the second and the third ODIs on March 19 and March 22 respectively.
Post the conclusion of the ODI series, the players participating in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will join their respective franchises with the competition set to kick off on March 31. Cummins, meanwhile, had already opted out of IPL 2023.