Cummins targets IPL return in build to WTC final, Caribbean tour

Pat Cummins is targeting the Indian Premier League to make his return from his ankle injury and is confident he will be fit to take back the captaincy reins for Australia's World Test Championship final.

Cummins bowled through pain during the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy contest against India in Sydney after a long-standing left ankle niggle flared following the Aussies' memorable final-day victory at the MCG.

It has sidelined him from the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka – which he was likely to miss anyway due to his wife Becky giving birth to his second child, a daughter Edi who arrived during the first Test in Galle – and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

Cummins admits Edi's arrival meant he saw little of Usman Khawaja's history-making double-century.

"It's been an amazing month or so just having full focus on family time and not having to do too much training or have my eye on a tour. Just being totally present has been really special," Cummins told cricket.com.au.

"It was weird watching the Sri Lanka Test series. I haven't seen the boys play on TV really for years. They were fantastic, the boys were basically faultless. I could follow along and just enjoy it really."

The 31-year-old has resumed running and hopes to be back to honour his A$3.7m contract with Sunrisers Hyderabad, last year's beaten finalists whose 2025 IPL season opener is a month away.

"The ankle is starting to come good," said Cummins, a Prime Video ambassador who will watch Australia's Champions Trophy opener against England (8pm AEDT Saturday) alongside fans at a Sydney craft brewery he owns a stake in.

"It's a funny one – it's not like a hamstring where you need six weeks (to recover). It's one of those ones where it really just needs a bit (more) rest to settle down. I've been doing loads of rehab in the gym and trying to build back up slowly.

"Especially for a fast bowler, you've got to kind of step towards things. Once you have a bit of time off, you’ve got to start running again, and then you got to start bowling, and start building up.

"So we just ran out of time for Pakistan.

"It's not necessarily a new (injury), it's not anything that's going to be long-term, but it's just one of those ones you've got to manage. A bit of a break now, hopefully it sets it up for the next year or so."

Unlike for Australia’s previous WTC final appearance two years ago, the turnaround for Australia's Test players who also feature in the preceding IPL is generous; Cummins could have as long as three-and-a-half weeks grace period if Sunrisers miss the finals.

Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Josh Inglis and Travis Head are the other Test players who hold IPL deals.

Cummins believes the intensity of cricket's most lucrative tournament will serve as an adequate lead-in to the Lord's final against South Africa on June 11, as well as the ensuing three-Test tour of the Caribbean that runs into July.

"That's the aim," he said. "It's four overs in T20s. So physically it's quite a nice build up for the World Test Championship final, and then the Test matches after that.

"That's the aim at this stage – start bowling over the next week or so, building up, and should be right for IPL.

"It's probably just making sure you're still bowling quite a few balls (during the IPL). The good thing about a T20 tournament is the intensity is really high, so that obviously helps quite a bit.

"But maybe the back half the tournament, you ball a few extra balls in warm-ups and nets, just to make sure your body's used to bowling quite a bit.

"I feel like it's a little bit different now that I'm 30 now as opposed to my early 20s. I feel like my body's had plenty of balls in it over the years, and it's pretty hardened."

Australia copped criticism from some quarters for their preparation for last summer's India series, with Cummins called out at one stage for attending a Coldplay concert instead of playing an ODI against Pakistan.

The paceman had skipped a limited-overs tour of the United Kingdom to complete a mini pre-season through September-October after taking part in the United States' Major League Cricket T20 tournament.

That he finished as Australia's leading wicket-taker in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign (his 25 victims came at 21.36, bettered only by Jasprit Bumrah's remarkable haul of 32 at 13.06) and led his side to a 3-1 series win essentially vindicated their planning.

Cummins has already pulled out of this year's MLC. After the Windies tour, Australia have white-ball series against South Africa (pencilled in to be played in northern Queensland or Darwin), New Zealand (away) and India (at home to begin the 2025-26 home summer) pencilled in on the Future Tours Programme.

He says it is too early to know whether he could replicate his BGT preparation ahead of next summer's main event; the home Ashes.

"Last year we all felt like I needed a bit of a break and a freshen-up physically. So I think you make that call (on Ashes preparation) in the second half of the year," said Cummins.

"This series (against India), I definitely felt the freshest and strongest I have in probably forever. That was down to that break that I was able to get leading to the summer.

"My hamstrings are something I'm always kind of battling with, but having that break meant that my hamstrings this summer were the best that I felt in probably half a dozen years.

"I was really happy with the prep going into the summer. For a fast bowler, it's not just getting your skills up to scratch, but physically, it's probably more important getting that right."

2025 ICC Men's Champions Trophy

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Australia's Group B fixtures

February 22: Australia v England, Lahore (8pm AEDT)

February 25: Australia v South Africa, Rawalpindi (8pm AEDT)

February 28: Afghanistan v Australia, Lahore (8pm AEDT)

March 4: Semi-final 1, Dubai (8pm AEDT)

March 5: Semi-final 2, Lahore (8pm AEDT)

March 9: Final, Lahore or Dubai (8pm AEDT)

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserve: Cooper Connolly