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Our Plan ‘A’ is to use Cummins in all games: David Saker
Australia's stand-in coach David Saker on Wednesday said that the team management will closely monitor premier fast bowler Pat Cummins' workload in the upcoming limited overs series against India even though they expect him to play all the five ODIs.
"At this stage we're planning for him to play all the games. We will look at (resting him), it's obviously been brought up between all of us. We know that his workloads are up there, but we know it's an important series. It's Australia vs India, it doesn't get any bigger than that," Saker was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
The Australian fast bowling coach is standing in as head coach for Darren Lehmann on this tour.
As of now, the Plan 'A' is to play Cummins in all the matches in India, Saker said adding resting him was only Plan 'B'.
Cummins would be leading an inexperienced fast bowling attack in five one-day internationals and three T20s over the next month, with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson at home nursing minor injuries ahead of the Ashes against England.
Saker admitted that Cummins' bowling workloads were ‘up there’ after he pushed himself to the limit in oppressive conditions on the recent Test tour of Bangladesh, but said resting him during the Indian series was only Plan 'B'.
The paceman, whose career has been hit by a series of injuries since his debut against South Africa in 2011, bowled only four overs in the team's warm-up match against Board President's XI on Tuesday.
"He's really determined to play well over here. It'll be game-by-game basis, we'll play it by the ear," the stand-in coach was reported as saying.
Cummins is one of just three frontline fast bowlers in Australia's ODI squad in India, alongside Nathan Coulter-Nile and Kane Richardson. The visiting Australians open the ODI series with the first match in Chennai on September 17 at the M A Chidambaram stadium.