Australia skipper Cummins may miss next year's SL Tests for birth of his child

New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) Australia skipper Pat Cummins could miss some of next year's Test series against Sri Lanka, as his wife Becky is due to give birth to their second child.

Australia are scheduled to tour early next year for a two-game series, which could be crucial for their World Test Championship Final qualification at Lord’s in June. However, the skipper has prioritised spending more time at home with his wife, who is expecting their second child in late January or early February.

"Yeah, it’s definitely a factor. We haven’t worked out exactly what that looks like – it’s pretty hard to plan exactly the day, but definitely,” Cummins told Sydney Mornig Herald.

He also regretted missing time with his wife and son, as biosecurity rules forced Cummins to fly to the UAE for the T20 World Cup just four days after his son's birth in late 2021.

"I missed a big chunk of son Albie’s early days last time and I want to work out how we can spend a bit more time at home for that initial period this time around."

During last year's Border Gavaskar Trophy, Cummins had returned home after Australia's second Test defeat in New Delhi to be at the side of his late mother Maria, who died because of breast cancer.

"Within reason, no one is ever going to bat an eyelid if someone needs to put their family first. We’re playing cricket, it’s not the end of the world, so we want people to have long, successful careers for Australia, and you can’t just ask them to put their life on hold to go tour the world and forget about everything else. We’re pretty open when it comes to family," he added.