Pat Cummins has resumed bowling as he gets ready to return to action in the IPL next month. The fast bowler will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament again after taking them to the final last season before losing to Kolkata Knight Riders.

The regular Australian captain missed the ongoing Champions Trophy because of an ankle injury following last month’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home.

“The ankle is all going strong... been able to give it a good rest and then been building up slowly, which you don’t get to do when you play lots of cricket,” Cummins said.

“It’s feeling as strong as it has for a fair while. Should be fine (for the IPL), that’s the plan. So have a few weeks of bowling, building back up and then hopefully don’t have to worry about it for a while.”

The Sunrisers begin their IPL campaign on March 23, against Rajasthan Royals.

Cummins, who recently became a dad for a second time, said he is managing his ankle on an ongoing basis.

“It’s something that we’ve opted never to have surgery on or intervene too much, just a lot to rehab,” he said. “Having this break meant that I could get a couple of cortisones and really rehab it well the last couple of weeks.”

Cummins added that he would be able to build his workload during the IPL. “...now, absolutely, you try and make sure the players are at their peak for as long as you can for the year.”