No MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma: Pat Cummins names ‘toughest’ India player he faced | Cricket News
Pat Cummins has faced some of India’s biggest cricketing names during his international career, but when asked to identify the toughest Indian opponent he has come up against, the Australia captain did not pick MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma.Instead, Cummins went back to the player who repeatedly tested Australia’s patience during two memorable Border-Gavaskar Trophy series and chose Cheteshwar Pujara as his toughest Indian opponent.The Australia Test and ODI captain made the admission in a recent promotional video for Prime Video Sport, where he was asked to name the toughest player he had faced from India, Pakistan, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, South Africa and the West Indies.For India, there was little hesitation in his choice.“India, I’m going to say, Pujara. Really hard to get out. Just like death by a thousand papercuts. Happy to face 100 dot balls if he wanted to. Not going to give you a chance,” said Cummins in a video shared on social media.Pujara’s reputation as an immovable presence at the crease was particularly evident against Australia. He played 25 Tests against them and accumulated 2,074 runs at an average of 49.38.Nearly half of those runs, 993, came in Australia, where Pujara struck three centuries and five fifties. His highest score Down Under was 193.The 2018-19 and 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series remain synonymous with Pujara’s determined resistance against Australia’s pace attack, including Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.Pujara retired from international cricket last year after a career spanning 103 Tests for India. He finished with 7,195 runs at an average of 43.6, including 19 centuries and 35 fifties.
Cummins’ other picks
Cummins selected Brendon McCullum as his toughest opponent from New Zealand, recalling the former New Zealand captain’s aggressive approach at the top of the order.“From New Zealand, I played Brendon McCullum a couple of times when he was really going hard at the top of the order,” said Cummins.For Pakistan, Cummins opted for former spinner Saeed Ajmal, “Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal. It was like the last ball of the over; I walked in, Saeed Ajmal just goes, and I went, what? Clean bowled. I have never seen anything like that,” Cummins said.His selections from the remaining countries were equally notable. Sir Alastair Cook was his choice from England, AB de Villiers from South Africa, Tillakaratne Dilshan from Sri Lanka and Chris Gayle from the West Indies.
