New Delhi: Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins, still riding the wave of the team's record-extending sixth ICC World Cup title, is currently enjoying a break at home with his family. The focus now shifts to the upcoming summer season in Australia, featuring five Tests, three against Pakistan, and two against the West Indies.

Cummins, along with the majority of his World Cup-winning teammates, had returned home after the tournament. However, seven players stayed back in India for a five-match T20I series, extending their tour to almost two and a half months. The tour began with a three-match ODI series against India, followed by two World Cup warm-up games, 11 matches leading up to the World Cup title, and finally the five T20Is.

Acknowledging the challenges faced by the players on the extended tour, Cricket Australia took a step to address the situation by sending reinforcements, allowing Steven Smith and Adam Zampa to return home before the third T20I in Guwahati. Four other players will also leave after the match.

Cummins expressed empathy for his teammates who stayed back for the T20I series, which, for many, seemed like an obligation to fulfill bilateral commitments between the Indian cricket board and Cricket Australia.

These players, unable to formally celebrate the World Cup victory, must be feeling physically and emotionally drained. Cummins acknowledged this, saying, "They’re humans, not robots. Putting everything into a World Cup and playing a couple of days later, I probably don’t begrudge them if they’re not 100 percent."

Looking ahead, after a demanding year on the road, Cummins, along with his fellow fast bowlers, expressed a desire to feature in every Test during the upcoming summer. He emphasized that they are fully fit and won't be resting. The Australian team will resume action with the first Test against Pakistan scheduled to start on December 14 in Perth. Until then, Cummins and his teammates not involved in the T20I series in India are savoring the glory of their rare World Cup title triumph, achieved with nine successive wins after two early defeats.

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