Steve Simith will captain Australia in the fourth Test against India in Ahmedabad, with Pat Cummins opting to stay home with his family. Cummins, who missed the third Test, flew back to Australia to be with his sick mother, who is in palliative care. Cummins who was expected to return for the fourth Test has now officially ruled himself out, Cricket Australia announced.
Steve Smith captained Australia in the third Test at Indore, as the visitors defeated India by 9 wickets. It was India's third defeat in a decade in home Tets matches. Earlier Australia, captained by Steve Smith defeated India in Pune in 2017.
No call has yet been made on Cummins' availability for the three-match ODI series that follows the Tests, with the fast bowler having also been appointed as 50-over captain last year.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
