Border-Gavaskar Trophy: ‘We’ve got to keep Pant quiet’, says Australia captain Cummins

New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) Australia captain Pat Cummins remains wary of India star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s ability to take the game on and said his side needs to keep the 26-year-old batter quiet in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The upcoming five-match Test series between India and Australia will start on November 22. The series will see India and Australia play in Perth, Adelaide (pink-ball match), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney from November 22 to January 7, 2025.

India were able to retain the title in the last four successive BGT, which includes their famous series wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21, where Pant played a remarkable knock of 89 not out in Gabba and snatched the victory in style to end Australia’s 32-year undefeated run at their fortress.

Pant made a remarkable comeback in Test cricket against Bangladesh, after a long wait of 637 days due to a near-fatal car crash in December 2022, scoring 109 runs in the second innings, helping India in a 280-run victory in Chennai.

“Look, I think every team has one or two of those players who can take the game on. You know, we’ve got Travis Head and Mitch Marsh and those guys. I think with those guys, you know that they’re going to be aggressive. If you miss your area a little bit, they’re going to take the game on. Someone like Rishabh, he might play a reverse lap and it’s an incredible shot and that’s just part of who he is,” Cummins said on Star Sports.

“I think we’ve become a bit more accustomed to it nowadays when some of those ridiculous shots are a bit more common. He’s someone that’s had a big influence on a couple of series and we’ve got to try and keep him quiet,” he added.

India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia the last two times it was played here in 2018/19 and 2020/21. Moreover, Australia have not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series since 2014-15, when they won 2-0 on the home soil.

–IANS

bc/ab