Australia Test captain Pat Cummins is set to return to the Sheffield Shield as part of his preparation for the Test series against India which begins in Perth on November 22.

Cummins, who recently played the franchise league in the US, has been rested from Australia's white-ball tour of Scotland and England next month.

He will spend the time focusing on strength and conditioning ahead of the home summer with the five Tests against India taking a little over seven weeks which will be followed shortly after by two more games in Sri Lanka.

Those seven Tests will decide whether Australia can defend their World Test Championship title at Lord's next June. They are currently second in the table behind India.

Cummins last played Sheffield Shield for New South Wales in February 2021 and has only made nine appearances in his career. There is also an ODI series against Pakistan in early November which could be used as part of the build-up to the Test matches.

"Ronnie (coach Andrew McDonald) called me the other day and said we need to talk about this," Cummins told News Corp. "I prefer to go a little bit fresher but definitely play some cricket going in.

"So I'd say it's either two or three ODIs, plus a Shield (game) or maybe just some Shield, maybe some NSW one-day stuff. I imagine kind of late October/early November will be when I start playing building up for the Tests."

New South Wales have a Shield game against Victoria from October 20 before facing Queensland from November 1.

Cummins had said earlier that missing the England tour had been long-planned and it was about ensuring his body was right for the upcoming workload which includes the Champions Trophy.

"I'll have a good six or eight weeks off bowling where I'll get in the gym every day, do some running, and get some strength back into my body," he said.