“You can't keep them out of it” - Pat Cummins hails ‘super consistent’ Indian duo
Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has lavished praise on senior Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. Terming the duo as "super consistent", he said that playing alongside them has been a special experience.
Under Cummins, Australia had a brilliant 2023, winning the World Test Championship (WTC) as well as the ODI World Cup, defeating India in the final both times. They also retained the Ashes as the five-match Test series against England ended with a 2-2 scoreline.
Speaking to ICC, the Aussie fast bowler had words of praise for both Jadeja and Kohli.
"Kohli and Jadeja are super consistent, you can't keep them out of it, they find a way to drag their team out of trouble and win it, to be alongside those guys has been really special,” the right-arm pacer said.
Kohli had an exceptional 2023 ODI World Cup campaign, amassing 765 runs in 11 matches at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.32, with three hundreds and six fifties. As for Jadeja, the all-rounder has been an integral part of the Indian team across formats for the last few years.
Pat Cummins opens up on being named ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year 2023
Apart from team success, there has been individual glory for Cummins as well. Recently, the fast bowler was named the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year. Reflecting on the award, the Australian skipper described it as a huge honor.
"It is a huge honor, it is been a big year with lots of wonderful team success and to get this individual honor is huge. We are a team sport where you play for kind of team wins and you're going after tournaments and trophies together. In terms of an individual accolade, it's right up there,” the 30-year-old said.
Cummins claimed 59 wickets and scored 422 runs in 24 matches in international cricket last year. He was also named captain of the ICC Men's Test Team of the Year 2023.
The Australian captain’s teammate and seasoned opener Usman Khawaja was named the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Year 2023 for scoring 1,210 runs in 13 Tests last year.