Australia captain Pat Cummins has been confirmed to miss the upcoming third Test against India in Indore which begins on March 1 as he is not expected to come back from Australia in time to join the team.
Steve Smith will captain the side in his absence and reports suggested that Cummins might miss the fourth Test in Ahmedabad as well due to the family emergency back home, with Smith continuing in the captaincy role.
Cummins revealed that his mother is severely ill and in pallative care and hence he has decided against returning to India for the third Test match against India.
Now former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie has urged Pat Cummins to remain back home with the family and spend some quality time with them as the series is already gone. Gillespie also stated that with other important assignments coming up in the future, it would be good for him to have a break with family.
"It wouldn't surprise me if we didn't see him on this tour [again]. If I was in charge, I'd probably just say to him, 'stay at home'. With all due respect, the series is gone, we can't win the series, there's series coming up this year moving forward, it might just be a really good opportunity for Pat Cummins to spend important time, precious time, with close family and friends,” Gillespie said on Summer GrandStand, as quoted by ABC Online.
The former pacer added that he is already out of the third Test and mentioned that he feels that the team management might have already told Cummins to stay back for the rest of the Test matches.
"What's more important, spending time with your close family and friends and particularly your mum who's gravely ill, or the fourth Test of a series that you've already lost? He's already missing the third Test, for me it's an absolute no-brainer. It wouldn't surprise me if behind the scenes they've already said to Pat, we don't need you here in India for this Test series.
Be a son. Be a brother, just be around your family. Family is the number one thing,” Gillespie added.
This was Pat Cummins’ first tour of India as Australia Test and ODI captain, as he had made a return to international cricket back in 2017 tour after six years.
