Cummins targets comeback in India ODIs ahead of World Cup

Pat Cummins is targeting a return in the ODIs against India in late September ahead of the World Cup as he recovers from the fractured wrist he suffered in the final Ashes Test at The Oval.

Cummins, Australia's ODI captain, picked up the injury on the opening day of the Test but the severity of it was only confirmed after the match. He has since been wearing a cast on his left wrist with a recovery time of around six weeks.

That would take him up to around mid-September and he will fly out to South Africa for the ODI leg of that tour with five games between September 7 and 17, but the three matches in India immediately before the World Cup appear a more realistic return date.

"It's not too bad," Cummins said. "I'll head over to South Africa at the backend of that leg, but probably more those one-dayers ahead of the World Cup. Another few weeks and I'll be right.

"It hurt day one when I did it and hurt a lot when I was batting but didn't think it was too bad. With each day it got a bit sorer, so knew it was probably bone as opposed to muscle."

Cummins was named as Aaron Finch's successor for the ODI captaincy last year but has only led Australia in two of the team's six matches since then. He missed one game against England when Josh Hazlewood stepped in then all three in India following the death of his mother, as Steven Smith took over.

Cummins, speaking at a partnership announcement between Cricket Australia and HCLTech, endorsed Mitchell Marsh, the new T20I captain, as the logical option to lead the ODI side against South Africa in his absence although said there could well be a rotation of the role if players' workloads are managed ahead of the World Cup.

"The captaincy for the ODIs we've kind of shared around a little bit," he said. "We'll get over there, have a look at that. The good thing is we have a few options. [Mitch] is probably the most obvious one if he's doing the T20s as well.

"Wouldn't be surprised as well with the amount of ODIs before the World Cup that some guys might miss a game. If Mitch misses one, someone else might step up."

Cummins termed Marsh "a real leader" and believes he will be an excellent fit for the T20I team. Although he is currently appointed only for the three matches in South Africa, he is now the favourite to take the role fulltime ahead of next year's T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA.

He will also be a frontrunner for the ODI job in the future with Cummins only expected to keep that captaincy until the conclusion of the upcoming World Cup in India.

"He's always been a huge member of the team. A real leader," Cummins said. "Probably in the last few years it's been his body that's got in the way at times. What made that Headingley hundred so special wasn't just getting himself back in the team, he had surgery, got told he might not be able to bowl again, but worked so hard over the last 12 months to give himself another shot at red-ball cricket. We were just all so happy for him.

"And off the field think he's just a great people person. His energy is infectious, he's great to hang around with, always good fun. Just gets the temperature of the room right more than anyone else. He's going to be great for that T20 squad."