InMobi

'Wrecked' Aussies eye next Test assignment without Cummins

Australia is set for another extended stint in action with a number of players in the selection mix

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy winners will have the best part of a fortnight to recharge after their gruelling series triumph over India, while captain Pat Cummins has likely played his last Test for six months.

Travis Head admitted he was "wrecked" while Cummins admitted he too had little left in the tank for the six-wicket win in Sydney that saw Australia beat India in a Test series for the first time since 2014-15.

Webster, Head steer Aussies to Border-Gavaskar Trophy win

It also ensured Australia's qualification for the World Test Championship final which will see them attempt to become the first dual winners of the ICC mace when they face South Africa at Lord's in June.

Australians are loathe to miss any Test series, but Cummins' expected absence from the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child later this month may be more agreeable given the two Tests (their last of this current WTC cycle) are effectively dead rubbers.

"We'll wait and see," Cummins told reporters. "(His wife) Becky is hanging on at the moment, so we'll play by it by ear. But most likely I might struggle to get over there."

The bulk of Australia's squad for Sri Lanka, to be named later this week, will spend just under a week training in Dubai to prepare for the two Tests in Galle, where vicious spinning surfaces typically welcome touring sides.

Cummins' likely absence means Steve Smith may have the captaincy reins when he attempts to finally pass the 10,000-run mark after becoming the first man to be dismissed twice in the 9,990s, nixing what would have been a fairytale moment in front of his home crowd.

"I got chain-sawed didn’t I!" Smith told Triple M of his second-innings dismissal that saw him caught at gully off a lifter from Prasidh Krishna one run short of becoming the fourth Australian to the milestone.

Asked if he would play on next home summer, the 35-year-old said: "Yeah I think so. I was keen to go to Sri Lanka anyway – beyond there we’ll see what happens.

Cummins pleased with team unity in 'see-sawing' series

"We’re in the WTC final now so that will be exciting. Then we’ll take it day-by-day. It’s been a long summer so far, I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been fun to be in the runs again the last couple of weeks and a great series result."

Head is the other co vice-captain and could also be considered to take over from Cummins in Sri Lanka. The left-hander, Australia's leading run-scorer against India with centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane, conceded the series had taken a toll.

"It’s been a crazy five Tests and the guys who got through all five are looking forward to a bit of time off," Head told Fox Cricket on Sunday.

"It’s a bloody tough tour and it's nice to come out on the winning side of things today. I’m wrecked, I don’t know what I’m going to do in the next few days but we’ve got 10 or 12 days off now before we go to Sri Lanka and I’m going to use every little bit of that.

"I’ll look forward to a couple of cold ones tonight, I’ve been off the drink for a bit, so I’ll look after myself and our attention will turn to what’s next."

Having fended off questions about his playing future during the India series, Usman Khawaja will be an important figure for Australia’s return to the subcontinent.

The opener averaged a tick over 20 against India in exceptionally difficult new-ball batting conditions, with Jasprit Bumrah dismissing him six times. He described the speedster as "the toughest bowler I've ever faced".

Usman Khawaja batting at the SCG on day three // Getty

"To be honest, guys, I was just getting 'Bumrah'd'," Khawaja told the ABC after making a telling 41 in Australia’s fourth-innings chase when Bumrah was injured.

"It was friggin' tough work. People are asking me, 'What's going on? ' I'm being honest. I'm just getting Bumrah’d. I have to face this guy with a new ball every single time.

"You never wanted to see anyone injured – and it's a shame he was – but thank God for us, because today would have been an absolute nightmare facing him on that wicket.

'Naughty' SCG wicket made it a nervy chase for Starc and Lyon

"You can see what a big part of the team he was and everyone felt it. As soon as we didn't see Bumrah out there, we had this sense like, 'all right, now we've got actually got a chance here'."

Australia may also consider the need for Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to go to Sri Lanka with both finishing the home summer with injury concerns. Starc pushed through the final two Tests with a rib niggle, while Hazlewood missed them with a calf strain.

The ensuing Champions Trophy event being played in February-March in Pakistan is a further consideration in how they deploy their all-format players.

Recent debutants Sam Konstas and Beau Webster were both in the dark over whether they would make the Sri Lanka squad, though it would be a surprise if either missed given their crucial performances in Australia's wins in Melbourne and Sydney.

Konstas could be a victim of Head's possible return to the opening spot, which he thrived in on Australia's most recent Test tour of the subcontinent in India in early 2023. If Australia went that way, the door would be ajar for Josh Inglis or Peter Handscomb to bat in the middle order.

Inglis is currently recovering from a calf strain, while Handscomb spent time around the Test team in Sydney along with Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy. Those two spinners were also strong performers in India two years ago and will be in selection calculations in Sri Lanka.

Webster's seam bowling also makes him an attractive proposition if pitches are sufficiently spin-friendly that only one specialist paceman is picked. The Tasmanian's previous experience in Sri Lanka is limited to a Tasmanian development squad tour in 2017 back when he was still exclusively bowling off-spin.

Konstas meanwhile gained subcontinental experience on a MRF tour of India last year, which has proved a helpful proving ground for emerging Australian players ahead of Asian tours.

"Not too sure if I’m selected yet but obviously, adapting to different conditions, maybe we’ll find a new Sam," Konstas told Triple M.

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: India won by 295 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: Australia won by 184 runs

Fifth Test: Australia won by six wickets

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal