Pat Cummins, who returned home for family reasons after the second Test, will not be available for Australia in the final match of the series. Steven Smith will lead the team in the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series. Australia’s regular captain Cummins returned home after the Delhi Test to be with his critically ill mother. He was initially expected to return before the fourth Test, but things changed. Cummins’ mother, Maria, was taken into palliative care. So this pacer has decided to stay in his country.

The last Test of the series will start in Ahmedabad next Thursday. This will be Smith leading the team in Cummins’ absence for the fourth time since Australia formed a new leadership structure with Cummins-Smith ahead of the 2021-22 Ashes. Smith is 100% successful in these matches. Earlier, he led the team to victory in one match each against Australia and West Indies. The team is hoping to tie the series with Smith. He was the full-time captain earlier.

Smith was handed another one-year leadership ban after serving a one-year ban for ball-tampering. After that period he was made vice-captain. But since then, there have been demands to bring him back as the main captain again at various times.

However, after the match in Indore, Smith said that he no longer wants to be the captain for the full term. “My time is up. Now the team is Pat’s. Of course this week I took the lead (as the team needed), which was needed during a difficult time with Patty back home. I am by his side.”

After the Test series, Australia will play three ODIs in this tour of India. Cummins is supposed to lead in that series as well. But whether he will play the matches or not, it’s still not confirmed.