Australia’s Test and ODI captain, Pat Cummins, will miss the upcoming tour of the United Kingdom as he focuses on preparing for the challenging five-match Test series against India later this year.
Cummins has accomplished much in his international career but has yet to secure a Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He has participated in four Test series against India—two at home and two away—with Australia losing all four.
The home defeats were particularly surprising given Australia’s strong record on home soil. This time, Cummins is hopeful to finally win the trophy and claim it for the first time.
Pat Cummins firmly sets his eyes on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
While speaking to Fox Cricket, Cummins accepted that he hadn’t claimed the trophy yet but was confident of turning it around this time. This will be the first time that Pat Cummins will be leading Australia in a Border-Gavaskar series at home.
“It’s the trophy I haven’t won before … this is the one trophy a lot of our group haven’t ticked off. We’ve achieved some amazing things over the last few years as a Test group. You kind of back yourself to win every series at home.
I think you need to try and be up there in the upper echelon of teams. That’s what lies ahead of us this summer,” Cummins said.
“They’re a really good side. We play them quite a lot, we know them well, but we feel like we’re really well placed also,” the fast bowler added.
Australia last won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy a decade ago
Since the 2014-15 tour when India visited Australia, Australia has yet to secure a Border-Gavaskar Trophy victory against India. On the last two occasions, India has won the series 2-1 each time. The Indian team aims to complete a hat-trick of Test series victories in Australia.
In the previous two Border-Gavaskar Trophy tours, India has performed exceptionally, demonstrating remarkable resilience by achieving one of cricket’s toughest feats: winning a Test series in Australia. This time, they will be striving for another series win to solidify their legacy.
Australia are the current WTC holders
Despite losing the last four Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, Australia triumphed over India to win the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final and also defeated India in the ODI World Cup 2023 final.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 is set to commence on November 22, with the opening Test taking place in Perth. The second Test will be a day-night fixture in Adelaide starting December 6. The series will feature five Tests, concluding with the final Test at Sydney from January 3-7.
