NEW DELHI: Steve Smith has been appointed as the captain of the Australian cricket team for the upcoming ODI series against India, in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins. According to cricket.com AU, Pat Cummins is not returning to India at the moment due to the sad demise of his mother on March 10.
Smith had earlier captained Australia in the last two matches of the Test series against India, which resulted in one win and a draw for the team. Under Pat Cummins’ captaincy, the team had faced defeat in the first two Test matches.
Pat Cummins won’t return to India for the ODI leg of the tour #INDvAUS
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 14, 2023
Australian coach Andrew McDonald expressed his condolences to Pat Cummins and his family and stated that he will not be coming back to India for the ODI series. McDonald also praised Smith’s captaincy and said that the team had played well under his leadership.
This will be the second time that Smith will be leading the Australian team in an ODI series after his ban for ball-tampering ended in 2019. The first match of the ODI series between India and Australia is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on Friday.
The absence of Pat Cummins from the team is a big blow to the Australian side, but with Steve Smith at the helm, the team will look to continue their winning momentum from the Test series and put up a strong performance against India.
