In a major blow to Kolkata, their stat overseas player Pat Cummins has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. The Australian has sustained a hip injury and has headed to Sydney to recover. It is to be noted that Australia will be touring Sri Lanka next month and thus, he is expected to be fit for the same. Besides, he has been rested for the T20I series against the island nation. As for his team in the cash-rich league, they have a very minuscule chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
They have won five out of their 12 games so far in the edition. He has played only five games in the season in which he managed to record the joint-fastest fifty in the history of the tournament. The fastest fifty of the cash-rich league was scored by KL Rahul in 14 balls for Punjab in 2018. This season, the record was equalled by the Aussie against Mumbai earlier in the tournament.
His other match-winning performance against the same side in the return fixture recently. The right-arm pacer picked three for 22 runs and thus, his team won the game by 52 runs. His decision to pull out could be inspired by his national side’s busy schedule ahead. It will start with an all-format series in Sri Lanka. The series will start with three T20Is, followed by five ODIs, and will conclude with two Tests.
Post the Aussie summer, Cummins will be leading Australia in the four-match Test series in India, as well as the Ashes in England next year. Also, not to forget, that he would be a part of Australia’s team for the 20-20 World Cup, a tournament where the team will be on a quest to defend their title, which they won last year in the UAE.
The 2021-World Cup winner had a dream start to his captaincy stint in the longest format of the game. The team thrashed England at home by 4-0, and won in Pakistan by 1-0 in a three-match series as well.
