New Delhi: Australia skipper Pat Cummins is all set to lead Australia in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy that begins on November 22, Friday with the Perth Test – the series opener. Ahead of the opening clash, Cummins looked quite chilled out and wasn’t much bothered about walking into the series which conveyed a lot about the captain’s mindset for the series.
On the eve of the first Test, Cummins addressed the media and talked about a number of aspects – one of which was his Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) teammate Nitish Kumar Reddy, a pace-bowling all-rounder. Cummins, who led SRH to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final, spent two months sharing the dressing room alongside Reddy, who is one of India’s potential debutants at Perth.
“Reddy is a great young kid. (I) loved playing alongside Nitish for Sunrisers. (He’s) a great young guy starting out his professional career this season. Really impressed (with) how he went about his work last year. He didn’t bowl as much as he potentially could have, but really impressed with what we saw. Looks like he can swing the ball a little bit,” Cricbuzz quoted Cummins as saying.
IPL’s support in recognising India’s talent pool
Several reports have claimed that Ravichandran Ashwin will be playing his first Test in Perth. It is already understood that regular skipper Rohit Sharma will miss the first Test as he is back home after the birth of his second child. Nonetheless, Cummins said that IPL has given him and his teammates the opportunity to recognise the depth of India’s talent pool.
“You always make plans for the whole squad. I think with most teams, especially India, you know (they) have got a lot of depth. Most of us have played IPL and seen how many newcomers come in and step up straightaway. They’re missing a couple of guys we’re more familiar with but we know whoever they pick they obviously think is good enough for Test cricket. We’ve done a bit of prep,” Cummins added.
Having shared the dressing room with Nitish Reddy during the IPL 2024, Pat Cummins reflected on the young all-rounder who is a potential debutant for Team India at Perth. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
