Australia players wear black armbands to pay respect to Pat Cummins's mother

AHMEDABAD: Australian cricket team was seen wearing black armbands as a mark of respect for Pat Cummins' mother as she passed away on Thursday after a prolonged battle with cancer.

On Friday morning in Ahmedabad, coach Andrew McDonald gathered the team before the game to share that Maria Cummins had passed away from breast cancer.

"We are deeply saddened at the passing of Maria Cummins overnight. On behalf of Australian Cricket, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Pat, the Cummins family and their friends. The Australian Men's team will today wear black armbands as a mark of respect," Cricket Australia said.

Before departing for Sydney to care for his mother while she was receiving palliative care, Pat Cummins captained the team for the first two Test matches against India in the Border-Gavaskar series.

The team has praised Cummins for his leadership in the first two Tests while Steve Smith has captained in his absence.

"To be able to put that to one side while he's out captaining his country and trying to win Test matches is a pretty incredible effort. I think that speaks volumes about his character and why he's been such an incredible captain for us," Peter Handscomb said last month as quoted by cricket.com.au.

Australia are in a comfortable position in the 4th Test with opener Usman Khawaja notching up his hundred on the first day.