IND vs AUS 2023: I don’t really buy the narrative that we need to be mean and nasty – Australian captain Pat Cummins

Australian skipper Pat Cummins has played down suggestions that his team needs to be mean and nasty in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series. The visitors lost the opening Test match by a huge margin of an innings and 132 runs at the VCA Stadium, Nagpur.

Experts like Allan Border and Ravi Shastri have urged the Australian team to be aggressive in their approach in order to stay alive in the series. However, Cummins feels his team can get the result even without adopting an aggressive approach.

Meanwhile, Australian teams of the past were known to play hard on the field but the current Australian team under Pat Cummins has graced a sedate approach after the ball-tampering saga in South Africa in 2018.

Pat Cummins said while talking to SEN Cricket, “It’s cricket; it’s a game. We all are at our best when we’re having fun. We love touring, and playing alongside each other; it’s great fun. I don’t really buy the narrative that we need to be mean and nasty. You win 15 games smiling, and then you lose one and then suddenly people say you’ve got to be grumpier. I don’t really buy that.”

On the other hand, all-rounder Cameron Green missed the opening Test match due to a finger injury. Cummins added that Green adds value to the team and his addition will help the team function well with both bat and ball.

“Having a right-hander helps and him providing our fifth bowling option also helps; he’s a big player. It certainly helps the team function well from batting and bowling. You have got to be able to perform as well; he’s still coming back from that injury, and he’s only had a couple of sessions where he’s catching with a hard ball. He had a really good session on Wednesday, but (we) will see how he pulls up.”

Australia will look to bounce back stronger in the second Test match against India, which will be played in Delhi from Friday onwards.