Pat Cummins will play no more than one Sheffield Shield game before the start of the Test summer, as Australia’s captain manages his workload ahead of facing India.
Cummins will skip September’s white-ball tour of England and Scotland, after spending only two months at home between February and July.
The quick has been given two months off bowling by Cricket Australia coaching staff, in his first proper break from the game in close to two years.
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He will resume bowling again in late September, but will only play up to one of four Shield games for NSW before the first Test in Perth on November 24.
Instead, the 31-year-old will feature in a one-day series for Australia against Pakistan, preferring that as a build up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“I’ve got those ODIs, aiming to absolutely be part of that series,” Cummins said.
“I would say at least a NSW one-day game, if not a Shield game, before the ODIs.
“The priority at the moment is to smash out some gym work and start reassessing in a few weeks a path forward.
“I’m just trying to fill up the bucket again after two years of non-stop bowling. (Hoping) come that first Test in as good of a position as I have been in for a few years.”
Cummins also said his decision to play in the Indian Premier League and Major League Cricket in the USA was not a case of club-versus-country.
“This was an interesting year in this gap leading into the summer was always planned,” Cummins said.
“MLC popped up late, and when we were talking through the schedule didn’t change the prep leading into the summer.”
It’s expected workloads will become crucial this summer, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy stretching to five Tests for the first time.
Australia will also fly to Sri Lanka in mid-January for a Test series, the last two of seven red-ball matches in two-and-a-half months.
But Cummins predicted both Cameron Green and Mitch Marsh’s inclusion would prove vital this summer.
Green and Marsh only bowled 24 and 25 overs respectively last summer across five Tests, but Cummins expected that to change against India.
“We haven’t had to use them as much as we thought we would, which is a great thing,” Cummins said.
“The last couple of summers have been pretty light, quick Test matches.
“I suspect this summer might be a bit different at times. We’ll be drawing on Cam Green and Mitch Marsh a bit more.
“Even someone like Cam Green basically started in Shield cricket as a bowler, but hasn’t had to bowl heaps in Test matches.
“We’re really lucky Nathan Lyon bowls plenty of overs, so you don’t necessarily have to have an allrounder.
“But it makes a big difference to have that fifth bowling option. We have six.”