Australia captain Pat Cummins eyes return from ankle injury during IPL 2025 season, aiming for World Test Championship final
Australian captain Pat Cummins has confirmed that he is on track to recover from his ankle injury in time to lead the Australian Test team in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final against South Africa in June. Cummins, who has been ruled out of the Test series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy due to his ankle injury, is optimistic about his chances of recovery.
According to reports, Cummins has been undergoing rehabilitation in the gym and is gradually building up his strength. He has set a target of starting bowling within a week and aims to be fully fit for the IPL. The 31-year-old fast bowler believes that the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be an ideal preparation for the WTC final, citing the high-intensity matches in the T20 league will help him build up his fitness and form.
"I think it’s a nice build-up for the World Test Championship final, and then the Test matches after that," Cummins said in an interview with cricket.com.au. "That’s the aim – 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."
Cummins has been spending quality time with his family, taking a break from the demands of training and tour commitments. He reflected on Australia’s Test series against Sri Lanka, admitting it felt unusual watching the team play on TV after years of being on the field himself.
"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 said.
On his ankle injury, Cummins revealed that it is gradually improving, stating that for a fast bowler, returning to full fitness is a gradual process. He confirmed that there wasn’t enough time for him to recover in time for the Champions Trophy.
"The ankle is starting to come good," Cummins said. "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 the Pakistan tour."
Cummins’ statement comes as a boost for the Australian team, which is gearing up for the WTC final against South Africa. The series will be played at the iconic Lord’s stadium on June 11.
