Pat Cummins' admiration for out-of-favour India star: 'He's a batting machine'

Cummins, who will be leading the team in his maiden home BGT after taking over the captaincy from Tim Paine, addressed the media in a press conference before the start of the series in Perth on November 22nd.

Cummins reflected in India not carrying forward with two of their experienced old guard who were so important for their back-to-back series victories, in the shape of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Both players have been replaced by younger alternatives as India keep an eye on the future.

"They (Rahane and Pujara) both scored some really important innings,” said Cummins. “It was always great playing against Pujara. He was one of those guys who never really felt like he was getting away from you. But then he would bat, and bat, and bat, and bat," Cummins said about the 2018-19 player of the series winner.

Pujara’s number three slot was set to be occupied by Shubman Gill, but his thumb injury might mean Devdutt Padikkal could get a go in the position. Meanwhile, Rahane, who captained the last three matches of India’s success in 2020-21, has lost his middle order spot to either Sarfaraz Khan or Dhruv Jurel.

"I always really enjoyed the contest against him,” concluded Cummins regarding Pujara. “Some days he won, other days I won. So, it's going to feel a bit different without him."

In his comments, Cummins was also very complimentary of Jasprit Bumrah, who will be leading the line for India as their main strike bowler.

"I am a big fan of Bumrah,” said Cummins. “He is a fantastic bowler and can play a big role for India in the series. He's one of the guys who has played a lot of cricket in Australia.”

Bumrah made an immediate impact in the 2018-19 series, finishing as leading wicket-taker for either team with 21 wickets in that series as India sealed a famous win. An injury kept him out of the crucial match at the Gabba on the subsequent tour, but Bumrah still had an impact in the victory at the MCG.

Moreover, Bumrah may even step into the captaincy shoes if Rohit Sharma remains unavailable due to paternity leave, which would have Bumrah and Cummins take each other on as captains and not just as bowlers.