The year 2023 was eventful in the cricket calendar. But the year has been outstanding for the Australian skipper Pat Cummins. He won the World Test Championship and later the ICC Cricket World Cup too. But during the Test series, Cummins had a really tough time regarding his mother’s health. In an interaction, Cummins talked about that phase of his life.
Struggle During the Test Series against India:
Australia captain Pat Cummins opens up about a challenging period when he juggled playing in a Test series against India and caring for his ailing mother. Last year, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Cummins faced this tough situation. Amid the series, he flew back home between the second and third Test to be with his mother, Maria, who sadly succumbed to cancer. Cummins reflects on navigating the demands of international cricket while dealing with the profound personal loss of his mother.
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.”
Later he added, “But that time in particular – because we knew roughly the timeline, and knowing Mum and Dad as well; how much joy they get, sitting together, watching me play – that gave me enough confidence to go and play, and they were desperate for me to go and play, and I knew I could hop on a flight at any time and come back. But for those couple of weeks, I was in India, especially now that I look back on it, my mind was not in India, it was back home the whole time.”
Wish to be a Kid Again:
Australian captain Pat Cummins shared his desire to escape from it all – the fame, the captaincy, and the complexity of life. He yearned to return to a time when everything was more innocent and simple, reflecting on a longing for the uncomplicated moments of the past.
He said, “I remember my manager and a couple of other people around me who I normally listen to were calling me and being like, ‘I think we need to give a little bit of a reason why you’ve gone home’, and I’m like, ‘Nah, don’t care’, and he’s like, ‘Nah, you’re getting a lot of heat here, you’ve got to explain yourself’, and I was like, ‘I honestly do not care what people think.”
Later he said, “After about six or seven days when I knew I wasn’t going to come back to India, we said Mum’s in palliative care. But I literally could not have cared less what people were saying about me. Mum was a super private person, Dad is as well. So I know Mum wouldn’t want any attention at all. That was probably the main reason.”
Further, he added, “But two, I just wanted to go back to being a kid. Just no one knows who you are; you’re just a son. I remember that for those two weeks [I was thinking], ‘I don’t want to go and play in front of millions of people and everything gets picked apart. I just want to be the kid who is sitting there with Mum and Dad.”
The IPL 2024 is commencing soon. SunRisers Hyderabad purchased Pat Cummins with a jaw-dropping amount. Before stepping into the latest season of the IPL, SRH appointed him as the captain of the franchise. Fans are again waiting to see his leadership skill in this exciting tournament.
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