Captain Cummins to stay in Australia, miss 4th test in India

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia captain Pat Cummins will remain in Sydney and miss the fourth cricket test against India so he can be with his seriously ill mother.

Cummins flew home after back-to-back test losses in Nagpur and New Delhi and originally planned to return to India to finish off the four-test series. But he missed Australia’s nine-wicket win in the third test at Indore last week and Cricket Australia confirmed Monday that Cummins will also miss the series-finale in Ahmedabad. Former test skipper Steve Smith will again stand in as captain.

The 29-year-old Cummins has said his mother is in palliative care and he needs to be with his family. Team officials have not confirmed if Cummins will lead Australia in a three-match limited-overs series in India starting March 17.

Australia has qualified for the World Test Championship final in London against either India or Sri Lanka starting June 17 and will play a five-test Ashes series in England starting June 16.

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