Pat Cummins says IPL participation will be 'guided by my back'

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins is hopeful of being fit for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that starts on March 26, but said his participation, and the extent of it, would depend on his back's recovery.

"We'll just be guided by my back," he said. "We'll have another scan in a few weeks, and if it's good, then we'll have a slow build-up. T20s are a little bit easier to get up for, that's why I was so close to getting up for this World Cup."

The Australia captain was ruled out of the T20 World Cup after suffering what he described as a "minor setback". Cummins has been troubled by a back injury for the better part of last seven months and he featured in just one Test of a five-match Ashes rubber at home.

"It was really unfortunate," Cummins said. "I feel pretty good, just a minor setback and just ran out of time really. I'll rest up for a few weeks and go from there."

"We knew after the (Adelaide) Test match we were going to need somewhere between four and eight weeks to let the bone settle right down before then building back up. Initially, we thought it might only be four weeks, because I was feeling really good, but just had a follow-up scan. They thought it probably needs another couple of weeks, so the timeline just became a bit too tight."

The decision to ease himself back slowly into cricket was also influenced by Australia's packed schedule over the next 18 months, which includes home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand, tours to South Africa and India, an away Ashes series, an ODI World Cup and a possible World Test Championship final.

"We thought the first half of the year was a pretty good time to be conservative with the amount of cricket that's coming up," Cummins said. "We'll get it right, then hopefully that will mean you won't have to worry about it, and you can just go out and play all those Test matches. Whereas, if you're not careful with it now and it flares up, you're chasing your tail a bit."