Sport Trading 
Predictions 
Australian Test captain Pat Cummins is aiming to return to competitive cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Cummins bowled his heart out in the Border Gavaskar Trophy against India, where he finished with 25 wickets to help Australia win 3-1.
However, Cummins pulled out of the Champions Trophy due to an ankle injury and his second child. Along with him, the likes of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis are also not available for Australia due to different reasons.
The IPL 2025 is set to take place from March 22 to May 25, which is still one month away. Pat Cummins led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to the playoffs last season, while picking 18 wickets in 16 appearances. However, the side emerged as the runner-up, while losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Cummins was retained by the Sunrisers and he is likely to lead the side in the forthcoming season as well.
Pat Cummins stated that his recovery is going fine and he is getting ready to take up the T20 bowling workload ahead of the World Test Championship Final against South Africa.
Here’s what Cummins told ‘cricket.com.au’:
“The ankle is starting to come good… 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.”
“That’s the aim at this stage — start bowling over the next week or so, building up, and should be right for IPL,” 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.”
“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.” he added.
Steve Smith relaxed despite absence of Pat Cummins and other stars in Champions Trophy
Australian captain Steve Smith feels it’s a great opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent in the absence of players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
The Men in Yellow have the presence of Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis and Spencer Johnson, who are not experienced enough in domestic cricket.
However, Smith expressed confidence in the bowling unit coming good, given their proven performances in the T20 format. He said:
“It’s a little bit different. I’ve played for ten years plus with those guys (Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc) around so it’s a little bit different, but yeah, as I alluded to before, I think it’s great opportunity for some of these younger guys to showcase their skills in a world event.”
“I mean, I’m pretty relaxed. There’s always pressure when you’re playing in international events and big tournaments. So, yeah, look, I think it’s clear we’re obviously missing a few of our gun fast bowlers, but we’re not worried about that. We’re thinking about what we’ve got here and the opportunity that those guys have,” Smith added.
Australia will clash against England in their first game of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Lahore.
