"Still pretty raw at the moment" - Pat Cummins on the pain of his mother's demise

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has opened up on his emotional state, having lost his mother a few months ago. The 30-year-old suggested that his mother's death is yet to sink in.

Cummins lost his mother in March due to cancer, but not before she entered in palliative care. The right-arm speedster also missed the final two Tests of the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in India and the subsequent three ODIs as Steve Smith stepped in to lead Australia.

Speaking at WeAre8's 'Get Real with Rio', the New South Wales speedster said he was glad to spend some time with his mother before she passed away. He also claimed that it has given him a perspective on becoming a better father:

"It's still pretty raw at the moment but the last few months been luckily enough to spend loads of time with mum. But (also) us as kids, and (with) dad, and just sharing all those memories together."

"I think it hits home the kind of person you want to be, the kind of father you want to be. So from that side, it's been quite good. Lots of memories. But in terms of the grief I guess we'll keep working through that."

Nevertheless, Cummins will return to lead Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India, starting on June 7 at The Oval, London. He is also tasked with helping Australia win their first Ashes series (starting June 16) on English soil since 2001.

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"I played non-stop for a year or two" - Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins. (Image Credits: Getty)

The former number one-ranked Test bowler further recalled the hectic schedule that was right before him after returning from a glut of injuries.

He elaborated on the same:

"Cricket's basically 12 months of the year; there's always a cricket game going on somewhere, and I played non-stop for a year or two. This is about four or five years ago, when I kind of just came back from injuries."

"And I was just spent, like burnout and I just remember thinking 'geez I'm 25 here but I want to do this until I'm 35' I've got to find a way to balance all these different things."

The Aussie Test captain was the number one ranked bowler in the format until returning home from India. He held the spot for four long years.