Credits: X
Australian captain Pat Cummins heaped praise on Rishabh Pant and called him the X-factor for India in the middle-order. Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November 2024, Cummins praised Pant for his skills and called playing against him an exciting prospect. Notably, Rishabh Pant made his comeback to cricket after a year long injury hiatus following his fatal car accident. He played his first Test in the Bangladesh series, and since his comeback, the 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has been in brilliant form.
Pant scored a hundred against Bangladesh and missed a century against New Zealand in the first Test. Cummins spoke to Star Sports, where he heaped praise on Rishabh Pant and said that one never knows what they would get from Pant at the end of the day. Cummins said, “Rishabh had a great series here in Australia last time. He’s always a bit of that X-factor in the middle order. You never quite know what you're going to get, which is exciting, even as the opposition. And he's always got something to say behind the stumps—he’s very funny, and makes me laugh.”
We’re here to make amends: Pat Cummins sends stern warning to team India ahead of BGT 2024-25
The Aussie skipper sent a warning to the Indian team and said that while they have got unexpected results in the last two series, they are looking to make amends this time. Cummins said, “We’ve had a bit of a break, so I’m excited for the five-match Test series. Excited to get into it. We haven’t had a lot of luck against India over the last few Test series, but we always pride ourselves on playing well here in Australia.”
He added, “The last two series were a long time ago, so I think we’ve gotten over it. But we have really high expectations when we play Test cricket in Australia. I think that’s from the fans and the media as well. So anytime we don’t win down here, of course, you look at those series a bit more closely. The last series, in particular, was a really tough one. It went right down to that last session at the Gabba, and unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it off. A lot of the guys in the team are the same as those who played in that series, and we’re here to make amends.”
