Cricket great Ian Healy urges Pat Cummins to relinquish the captaincy and focus on his bowling

Australian cricket great Ian Healy thinks Pat Cummins should consider giving up the captaincy to focus on his bowling game and avoid risking burnout.

The 29-year-old took over from Tim Paine as Test skipper in November 2021 and was appointed ODI captain last year, after Aaron Finch stepped down from the role.

Now that the Victorian is nearing the end of his T20 career, Cummins leads the field of candidates to replace him at the front in the game’s shortest format.

But Healy cautioned that being Australia’s captain is a burden that could limit Cummins’ effectiveness as a bowler.

I don’t want him to carry the weight of so much captaincy for too long. I want it to end [as just a bowler]’, said the former goalkeeper SENQ’s Pat and Heals on Friday.

‘The captaincy creates exhaustion and four or five years is a long time for a captain.

‘He has done some years [as Test captain] ok, now you are adding [short-form captaincy] to your thought processes at a time when you are dealing with some kind of family illness at home.

“So, yeah, I’d like to see him end his career as a fast pitcher and someone else carry the burden of the captaincy.”

Cummins is currently the world’s No. 1 bowler in Test cricket as per International Cricket Council rankings and has a remarkable average of 21.50 with the ball in Test cricket.

The New South Wales star enjoyed a perfect start to his tenure as Test captain, leading Australia to a 4-0 thrashing of England in the Ashes, finishing as the best receiver in the series.

He repeated the feat when Australia secured their first Test series victory in Pakistan in 24 years last March, before leading his team to defeated the West Indies and South Africa earlier this summer.

Australia came to India as the world number 1 ranked team, but their hopes of winning a first series for the country in 19 years were dashed after six days of cricket.

The tourists were beaten by an innings and 132 runs at Nagpur and lost by six wickets at Delhi after another calamitous collapse.

Speaking on the same radio show earlier this week, former Australian skipper Allan Border suggested Cummins was experiencing his first real test of his captaincy.

Cummins bowled just 13 overs in the first innings of the second Test as India rallied from 4-87 at lunch and 7-139 in the second session to 262 all out later Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin compiled a crucial 114-run eighth-wicket partnership.

Even more surprising, he didn’t bowl at all in India’s second dig, despite being Australia’s only speed bowler along with three bowlers.

“I thought this is Pat’s first real test as captain, the rest has been easy,” Border said.

“You go to the subcontinent and all of a sudden you get tested in all sorts of areas. He is worried about many different things, I think he forgot to bowl.

“That’s what can happen in those situations when your main fast bowler is your captain.”

The Australian skipper will remain in Sydney and miss the third Test against India to be with his seriously ill mother.

Cummins flew home to Australia on Sunday night to be close to his family and Steve Smith will take over as captain for the third test, which begins in Indore on March 1.

And Healy warned that beyond Smith and Travis Head, who is four years younger than the former, Australia lacked captains ready to replace Cummins.

“I think Travis Head is quite capable. He has led South Australia since he was 21, he is quite capable and has a lot of experience,” Healy explained.

‘He’s the main one that stands out to me.

‘The likes of Glenn Maxwell might be able to do parts [in the short form]but as for the longer term captaincy prospects other than Travis Head, I can’t think [of any].’