'Less likely than likely': Pat Cummins finally breaks silence on playing Ashes 2025 opener

Australia's Test skipper Pat Cummins has been out of the cricket field for several weeks due to injury. Speculations around his return and playing the first Ashes match on November 21 have been the talk of the town. However, his latest scans have revealed that his back stress fracture has not healed. Now, Cummins has come forward and finally broken his silence on his fitness and playing The Ashes opener next month.

Pat Cummins breaks silence on his fitness

''I wouldn't put a percentage on it, but I'd probably say less likely than likely. But we've still got a bit of time. It's pretty hard to go from not bowling at all to suddenly playing five Tests. First step is trying to give us a shot at being right, then work it out a bit closer," he said, as quoted from SEN.

The Australian skipper also revealed that while his recovery is progressing well, he is still some time away from returning to bowling. "I know l am running today and every other day, and each run is a little bit longer. I'm probably a couple of weeks away before I actually put on the spikes and bowl on turf. It's been a good couple of weeks; each session has kind of gotten better. You'd probably want at least a month in the nets. If you are to play in a Test match, you want to be able to bowl 20 overs in a day, and you don't have to think about it. Four weeks is pretty tight, but I think somewhere around that mark,'' he added.

Talking about his eventual return, Cummins said that while the decision will be a joint one, he will have the final say. "It's a collaboration. I think I would probably have the final say, maybe, because it's my body. It's a huge collaboration. I feel in the safest hands possible. The medical team have been fantastic for us fast bowlers over the years, and having a back injury, I wouldn't want anyone else. I take their advice a lot and I'll lean on them and I'll be mainly guided by what they think," he further said.

(With ANI inputs)