Calcutta/Melbourne: Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins will miss the three-match T20I series against India to keep him fresh for the Ashes against England later this year, Cricket Australia said on Friday.

After more than five years of injury setbacks preventing his talent from blooming, the 24-year-old made an inspiring return to the Test arena against India earlier this year.

He has since been a regular in the 50-over format and has since played 22 of Australia's 27 international matches across formats, and also featured in the IPL.

He is expected to be part of Australia's pace attack in the Ashes and will therefore return home from India after the remaining three ODIs in the five-match series.

"Pat has played a considerable amount of cricket this year after a long period away from the game due to injury," national selector Trevor Hohns said.

"His body has handled the return to international cricket well, but we believe the best plan for him ahead of the Ashes series is to return home to refresh, both mentally and physically, before he prepares for Sheffield Shield cricket."

The replacement for Cummins in the T20 squad will be announced later.

"More than anything, (I'm excited about) playing my first Test in Australia," Cummins told CA website.

"I haven't really even been close to playing a Test in Australia so knowing in a couple of months that I could be playing at the Gabba in an Ashes Test, it'd be pretty crazy.

"I'm trying to get through this series and after that, all my focus will be on the Ashes and playing those first three Shield games. I'm pretty pumped."

The decision to send Cummins home early replicates that of four years ago when Mitchell Johnson was rested from an Indian tour in order to prepare for the Ashes, in which he took a record-breaking 37 wickets in Australia's 5-0 whitewash.

It is understood Cummins will be available to play for NSW Blues in the latter stages of the JLT One-Day Cup, should they make the finals on October 19 and 21, but his main focus will be the start of the JLT Sheffield Shield season on October 27.

Having been beset by serious injuries over the years, Cummins has ironically been the iron man of Australian fast bowling this year. With Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson all currently at home nursing injuries ahead of the summer, Cummins has led Australia's pace attack on this ODI tour so far and did so for most of the recent Test series in Bangladesh.

He made his long awaited Test return in India earlier this year when Starc was ruled out due to injury and looks set to play his first Test on home soil this summer when the Ashes get underway in Brisbane on November 23.

The 24-year-old will surely relish a return to the fast and bouncy Australian wickets this summer having spent most of this year on the subcontinent.

He defied extreme heat to brilliantly lead the pace attack in Bangladesh and did so again in similarly oppressive conditions at Eden Gardens on Sunday, taking one for 34 from 10 overs.