Pat Cummins kept on his toes by Rishabh Pant, has plans to keep him quiet: 'He moves the game quickly' - HT Exclusive

Pat Cummins is slowly and steadily becoming the true embodiment of the word 'clutch'. Time and time again, the Australian captain has shown that no one comes close to him when it comes to performing under pressure. Be it scoring vital runs under pressure or picking up key wickets when his side is under the pump, Cummins is always the one to put his hand up. In just two years, Cummins has fast emerged to become one of the finest captains in world cricket. Australia's Pat Cummins (C) celebrates with teammates(AFP)

Australia might be playing the white-ball series against Pakistan, but the world's focus remains on the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Cummins' Australia and Rohit Sharma's India will square off in the five-match series, which will be played across Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. Cummins has done it all so far in his glowing career – he won the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup last year. What he hasn't done is beat India in a Test series – something he'll be itching to achieve. Australia last held the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the 2014-15 series when Michael Clarke's team defeated India 2-0.

The upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy is expected to be one of world cricket's biggest spectacles, right up there with the Ashes. Ahead of the marquee five-match series set to begin on November 22, Hindustan Times Digital caught up with Cummins in a free-wheeling chat, where the Australia skipper opened up on his expectations from the India-Australia rivalry. In this interaction, Cummins covered a range of topics, discussing players like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Excerpts:

Australia last played a Test in March 2024. Do you think there's a bit of ring rust, or will the Sheffield Shield experience hold you guys in good stead?

Yeah, look, we're pretty happy with our preparation. Most of the guys have played some Sheffield Shield and some of the guys have had a bit of a break to freshen up. A 5 Test match series is quite taxing, so I always have the preference to come into the series, even if it's a little bit underdone. I always take that as a preference as opposed to coming to the first Test feeling like you've played too much.

How much pressure do you think there is on Australia, considering India have won the last two Test series Down Under and Australia are yet to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 2014-15?

I think there's pressure every time you play a Test match, particularly at home. I think most of the Australian crowd expects us to perform well at home, and we do as players as well. So, not having success over the last couple of series against India, I think, really heightens the attention the series will get. But it's not pressure that we're not used to. We've seen it all before.

Australia are yet to name the squad for BGT, with all eyes on who David Warner's replacement as opener will be. Do you think this is the only missing piece in Australia's squad for now?

Yeah, potentially. Obviously, Cam Green has been in the team for the last couple of Test matches since Davey retired, but he's injured, so we've got to fill that spot. Everyone else is sorted at the moment, so I expect that to be the only change at this stage.

What sort of conversations did you have with Steve Smith, who was opening the batting earlier this year, and now getting pushed down back to No. 4?

Smithy wanted to try out opening last year or early this year. We thought that set up the team quite well. With Cam Green injured and going to miss this summer, I think it was time to revisit what we thought was our best batting line-up. Smithy, being the team man he is, was happy to slot back down at number 4.

India have just lost a Test series against New Zealand at home. Does that give you any advantage? India also have the task of winning 4-0 to have any chance of making it to the WTC final.

It's probably not for me to really say. I don't really know. Yeah, it looked like a great series from afar, looks like New Zealand played really well. So yeah who knows if that has any bearing on this upcoming series.

Mohammed Shami is not a part of India's squad this time around. How much relief does that give you?

Yeah, look, hard to say. Shami wasn't there. I think he only played the Adelaide Test in the last series. He's obviously a class bowler who I'm sure India will miss but it's a Test match. There's always another player that steps up and we must be wary of.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have both been struggling for runs, off late. Does that give you a significant edge for the visitors, considering these two are the big targets for Australia?

Hard to know, really. Every player goes through a kind of good form, bad form. If you're going to have a long Test career, you're going to have those little patches. Our job is obviously to try and keep the Indian batters as quiet as we can so we'll wait and see. Those two are obviously some of India's more experienced players, so we'll see what happens.

Rishabh Pant has always come to India's rescue whenever they find themselves struggling against Australia. How important would it be to keep him quiet in this series?

Yeah, he is someone who always moves the game on pretty quickly, so for some of the players, you have to have some sound plans, too. He's played well, he had a good series out here in Australia next time. So yeah, we know he can be dangerous when he gets going, so [we'll] try and have some good plans and hope they come off.

Given what's at stake with WTC points, does it give the series a little more edge?

The WTC does provide an added motivation. We won it the last time around so we're desperate to go out and defend that title. That is kind of the other layer to this series. Obviously, you're trying to win every single Test match, but there's also more on the line with the World Test Championship points up for grabs. It's something we talk about a lot; we've got this series against India and then Sri Lanka afterwards which are our last two series in this cycle.

After a long time, Australia start the series against India in Perth. Does playing at a fast, bouncy pitch, auger well for you?

I don't know about that. They're similar venues to what we always play at, so in a Border Gavaskar Trophy, I don't think the order matters too much, Perth is a great spot to start the summer. We've started there the last couple of years, but then shortly after that, we’ve headed straight into Adelaide. So yeah, we'll wait and see but I don't think the order of matches really makes a difference.

There is a running thing on social media, saying 'Pat Cummins is the real meaning of world clutch'. What makes you perform under such high-pressure situations?

Hard to say, really. We've had a pretty good run over the last couple of years. Some tight matches that we've managed to get over the line. I think a lot of the focus always goes on to you. But you've got to remember the opposition is also under pressure to try and close out the game, so I just try and stay as calm as I can and try and map out a way ahead.

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