Hungry Cummins wants to ‘tick off’ beating India at home

It’s been 10 years since Australia last won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and that came back in 2014/15 under the joint leadership of Steven Smith and Michael Clarke. Since then, the Aussies have contested in four BGTs and have lost every single one of them. Two of these have been at home, with India registering 2-1 series wins in both 2018/19 and 2020/21.

Cummins was not part of the victorious 2014/15 campaign, but he was, however, part of the back-to-back defeats. Set to captain the Kangaroos in a home BGT for the first time, Cummins wants to ‘tick off’ beating India at home, something he’s not been able to do so far in his career.

"It's kind of the one big thing that I want to tick off, particularly winning at home," Cummins told AAP.

"Most Australians, me included, expect us to do well whenever we play at home. We've lost the [past] two series against them (in Australia), so this is a big one.”

Australia suffered a shock loss at the hands of West Indies at the Gabba at the start of the year, but the Kangaroos brushed it off quickly by whitewashing New Zealand in their own backyard. Australia have not played a Test since the 2-0 win over the Kiwis, but Cummins insisted that the team is in a ‘very good place’ and asserted that he expects the group to shine in the forthcoming BGT.

“We feel like our team's in a really good place, so we've got no reason why we shouldn't perform really well,” he said.

"I just always expect us to do well against whoever we play. But India, particularly, is a big year, big season."

For the first time this century, the BGT will be a five-test affair. The first of the five Tess will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth from November 22. With South Africa in pole position to make it to the WTC final, the BGT is a massive assignment for both India and Australia in the larger context. 

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