Prior to their first match of the 2017 ICC Cricket World Cup, Australia captain Pat Cummins claimed that they have played more white-ball cricket in India than in their own nation. On October 8, Australia and the hosts India will square off at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
According to Cummins, Australia is confident in their ability to compete with India because the Kangaroos are familiar with the playing field. Notably, despite losing the three-game ODI series 2-1, Australia entered the 50-over World Cup with a victory over the same opponent in the final match.
In the last ten years, we have played more white ball cricket in India than in Australia. We are fully familiar with the situation. The fact that we’ve played some very solid cricket against India recently is encouraging. However, we cannot be held responsible for our country’s World Cup victories in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, Cummins remarked during the pre-game press conference in Chennai.
This is a really meaningful first for me as a captain: Pat Cummins
According to Pat Cummins, the competition feels like a two-month campaign. The 30-year-old added that the fact that it is his first ODI World Cup as skipper makes the occasion very significant for him.
“The World Cup seems like a campaign, which is what I find most fascinating about it. Making a few months special requires a voyage. It is quite special for me to be captain for the first time, Cummins remarked.
The renowned sprinter went on to discuss the difficulties that could arise while playing against a team in front of their own fans.
“There will be a boisterous, biased home crowd, which is nothing new. The 30-year-old continued, “Playing in front of the team’s home crowd is never easy since the supporters will be rooting for them.
Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner, and Michael Neser make up the Australian team, along with Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, and Josh Inglis (wk).
Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav are all members of the Indian World Cup team.