'We have big series next year in India'- Pat Cummins eyes subcontinent dominance

Australia registered a comfortable 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first Test and would now be hoping to seal the series by coming out on top in the second game at Galle and should that happen, it would be their second straight red-ball series win in the subcontinent this year having defeated Pakistan 1-0 in March.

However, Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins’ key focus is on registering a red-ball series win on Indian soil. Having a good experience of playing in the subcontinent, Cummins is hopeful that Australia will be able to showcase an outstanding performance when they visit India next year in February-March for a four-match series which will be an important fixture in the ongoing ICC WTC 2021-23 cycle.

Pat Cummins emphasizes the importance of overseas victories

“We’ve had Marnus (Labuschagne), Travis Head, Cam Green, Alex Carey (who all) haven’t played test matches in conditions that have spun this much,” said Pat Cummins as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

“We have a big series next year in India, so this can really help develop and fast track our batters, if you want to be the number one Test team in the world you’ve got to be winning overseas,” he added.

Pat Cummins was unexpectedly handed over Australia’s Test captaincy reins after veteran wicketkeeper-batter Tim Paine was allegedly found guilty of being involved in the infamous ‘sexting scandal’ ahead of the 2021/22 Ashes. Paine decided to take an indefinite break from the game after the incident and backed out of the five-match series.

Cummins accepted the challenge and under him, not only did the Aussies succeed in retaining the ‘urn’ but also handed England yet another humiliating defeat Down Under with a thumping 4-0 win.

Australia have not won a Test series in India since the 2004/05 season when they won the four-match series 2-1 with one game being washed out due to rain. The victory came under stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist as regular skipper Ricky Ponting was ruled out of the first three Tests due to an injury.