“Hardest time of my life” – Pat Cummins on period before his mother’s death.

Australian Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has shared the emotional challenges he faced during the tour of India in early 2023. He revealed that his focus was often back home as his mother battled cancer, making it one of the toughest periods of his life. Cummins temporarily left the tour after the first few Tests to be with his family but returned to India afterward, opting not to fly back to Australia for the remainder of the series. Tragically, his mother passed away during the fourth Test in Ahmedabad while receiving palliative care.

Speaking on the Imperfects podcast, Cummins expressed regret about his decision to leave the tour, acknowledging that he could have spent more time with his family during such a difficult time

Cummins said “I knew when I was getting on that plane that I was going to have to come back in a couple of weeks pretty much. That was the hardest time of my life, easily. I probably felt it in the 12 months leading in. Any time I flew away I was like, ‘time’s finite here, I’m making a deliberate choice to go and play somewhere rather than spend it at home’. But for those couple of weeks I was in India, especially now I look back on it, my mind was not in India, it was back home the whole time.”

Despite these personal struggles, Cummins had a remarkable year in cricket in 2023. He led Australia to victory in the World Test Championship (WTC) and played a pivotal role in retaining the Ashes. Furthermore, Cummins led Australia to their sixth ODI World Cup title by defeating hosts India in the final, capping off a memorable year on the cricketing front.