IND vs AUS: Pat Cummins says ready with the excuse if Australia lose in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Australia captain Pat Cummins gave a cheeky response on the team giving an excuse if they lose the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, starting on November 22. Pat Cummins joked that he would find an excuse if they lose a third Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Team India at home.

Australia had an unbeaten record against the Men in Blue at home before the 2018-19 series. India defeated Australia and won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a 2-1 margin under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. The Indian cricket team went on to win the next BGT series in Australia with the same margin.

We Were Like Completely Outplayed - Pat Cummins

Speaking to the Grade Cricketer, Pat Cummins said that Australia's Test series losses to India in 2018-19 hurt him more than the one in 2020-21. Cummins said that Australia was outplayed by India throughout the 2018-19 series. He admitted that the 2020-21 series was 'quite tightly fought'.

"I thought the series before that [in 2018-19] was worse because we got completely beaten. That series [2020-21] was quite tightly fought I thought. They played fantastically well to win at The Gabba. That was annoying, but I felt the series before, where we were like completely outplayed, that one hurt more," Cummins said on the podcast.

"Last time India won, was it the worst loss ever?"
"The one before was worse cuz we were completely outplayed."
"But we had excuses. No Smith no Warner. This time no excuses."
"We'l find some. No Greeny. He was supposed to open the batting & bowling." 😂pic.twitter.com/hc1y1ULxne

— D.🍉 (@Deep_Take001) October 24, 2024

Australia lost the Adelaide Test to India by 31 runs but bounced back with a 146-run victory in Perth. India then won the Melbourne Test by 137 runs and drew the New Year’s Test. Notably, Australia was without David Warner and Steve Smith, who were both banned due to the ball-tampering scandal.

I Will Find Some - Pat Cummins

An interviewer said that Australia had valid excuses in 2018-19 due to the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith. The interviewer then jokingly noted that the team has no excuses this time around. Pat Cummins jokingly said that he would find one reason if they lose the series.

"I will find some (smiles). He [Cameron Green] was going to open the batting and bowling," Cummins added.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series is scheduled to be played from November 22 to January 7. All-rounder Cameron Green has been ruled out of the series due to a fifth stress fracture in his lower back. He will undergo surgery and is expected to miss the action from cricket for at least six months.

Pat Cummins' Record in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Cummins performed well during the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He took 14 wickets in four Tests with an average of 27.78, including one five-wicket haul. The fast bowler was the fourth-leading wicket-taker of the series behind Jasprit Bumrah (21), Nathan Lyon (21), and Mohammed Shami (16).

Cummins was the leading wicket-taker in the BGT 2020-21 series. The right-arm pacer secured 21 wickets in four matches with an average of 20.04. He took three four-wicket hauls, with his best figures of 4/21. Overall, the 31-year-old has played 13 Test matches against India and taken 50 wickets.

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