Australian Test captain Pat Cummins won’t pick up a cricket ball for the next eight weeks as he builds up his body ahead of this summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.

The 31-year-old, who recently returned from the United States following his maiden Major League Cricket campaign, was not selected for next month’s white-ball tour of the United Kingdom as Cricket Australia manages his workload ahead of another busy home summer.

Having been allocated a proper pre-season for the first time in several years, Cummins has shifted focus towards strength work, preparing his body for the highly-anticipated five-Test series against India that gets underway in late November.

If all goes to plan, the New South Welshman will be less susceptible to injury this summer, bowling longer spells while maintaining pace above 140km/h.

“I’m very sore today after a week of gym,” Cummins told Fox Cricket.

“Hamstrings, even ankles, kind of build up over months of bowling, but you can’t really nail it while you’re in the midst of the season.

“I’ll be doing lots of gym, some running, a lot of rehab exercise that you just can’t really fit in the middle of the season.”

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The past 12 months have been relentless for Cummins — after fracturing his wrist towards the end of the Ashes campaign in England, he has featured in an ODI series against India, the triumphant World Cup in the subcontinent, three Tests against Pakistan, two Tests against the West Indies, a T20 tour of New Zealand, two Tests against the Black Caps, the Indian Premier League, the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the MLC tournament.

CA identified the upcoming white-ball tour of Scotland and England as a rare opportunity for Cummins to freshen up and recharge the batteries ahead of a blockbuster home summer.

“Everyone that comes back after a break and is a little bit fresher, you never regret it,” Cummins continued.

“I’ve basically been bowling non-stop since the World Test Championship final, nearly 18 months ago.

“This gives me a good seven or eight weeks completely off bowling so the body can recover, then you start building up again for the summer.

“It means you can hopefully bowl for a little bit longer, maintain pace is a bit easier, make you less susceptible to injuries.”

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy, extended to five Tests this summer, has been in India’s possession since 2017, with the Asian powerhouse winning four consecutive series including historic triumphs on Australian soil in 2018/19 and 2020/21. Cummins only had one Test cap to his name the last time Australia lifted the coveted trophy.

Despite everything the Australian men’s team has achieved over the past few years — including two World Cup wins and a World Test Championship title — Cummins acknowledged that India’s Test dominance was “the one blight” that needed to be resolved.

Cummins and his teammates can make amends this summer, while there are also precious World Test Championship points on the line.

“It’s the trophy I haven’t won before … this is the one trophy a lot of our group haven’t ticked off,” Cummins said.

“We’ve achieved some amazing things over the last few years as a Test group. You kind of back yourself to win every series at home. I think you need to to try and be up there in the upper echelon of teams.

“That’s what lies ahead of us this summer.

“They’re a really good side. We play them quite a lot, we know them really well, but we feel like we’re really well placed also.”

Cummins, who penned a multi-year deal with the San Francisco Unicorns ahead of his maiden MLC campaign, claimed four wickets at 52.75 in six games during the American T20 tournament. He took 2-35 in the final against the Washington Freedom, which the Unicorns lost by 96 runs, removing national teammates Travis Head and Steve Smith.

“It was fun, also a bit scary knowing how good they are,” Cummins laughed when asked about bowling to Smith and Head.

“You can see why some of the oppositions scratch their heads at times, bowling at them when they’re in full flight.”

The prospect of watching Cummins and Smith lock horns in a Big Bash League Sydney derby in January next year is a mouth-watering prospect for Australian cricket fans.

Cummins has only played one BBL match in the last seven years, with international commitments repeatedly preventing the Sydney Thunder bowler from donning the lime green.

There’s a small window in January for Australia’s Test stars to play Big Bash cricket following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but Cummins confessed there was a “very, very slim” chance of him being available after five gruelling Test matches.

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Meanwhile, Cummins has no plans to retire from the game’s shortest format, hoping he can help Australia win gold at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“Watching the Olympics, it got us all excited. You want to be part of it right there in the middle,” Cummins said.

“I’d love to be on that side (at LA28). I think I’ll be 35 or something, so hopefully still there or thereabouts.

“Honestly right now, it feels a long way away. Maybe once we get closer and start building into it, everyone gets a bit more excited.”