Steve Smith will captain Australia again in the fourth Test against India with Pat Cummins remaining at home with his ailing mother.

Cummins left the tour ahead of the third Test and was initially expected to return, but with his mother in palliative care he has decided to stay in Australia.

Under Cummins’ leadership, Australia slumped to heavy defeats in the opening two Tests, but bounced back spectacularly when Smith took over to win the third Test by nine wickets.

The victory was only Australia’s second Test win in India since 2004 and secured them a place in the World Test Championship final in June at The Oval.

Despite revelling in being in charge again, Smith – who was stripped of the captaincy and handed a year-long ban over a 2018 ball-tampering incident – insisted after the third Test that his time as leader was “done”.

The fourth and final Test starts in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

No decision has been made yet on whether Cummins will return to India for the three-match ODI series that follows the Tests.

But fast bowler Jhye Richardson suffered a recurrence of a left hamstring injury over the weekend and has been ruled out of the limited-overs games, with Nathan Ellis replacing him in the squad.

© Agence France-Presse