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Australia captain Pat Cummins exuded confidence in his side's preparations and brushed away concerns of going against new faces in the Indian camp because of a sense of "familiarity".
The buildup around the five Tests to be played between two heavyweights has been surreal. Days before the series opener, both sides ramped up their preparations for the potential World Test Championship final-deciding series. The squads of the top two sides in the WTC standings are in complete contrast with each other. While Australia stuck to its mainstays, India decided to throw a couple of young faces into the mix for the challenging series. Despite seeing newcomers, Cummins remains unfazed because of being familiar with their talent after playing against and alongside them in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Cummins saw and touted young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy during their time with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Cummins saw Kolkata Knight Riders' young gun Nitish Rana's potential across their encounter in the 2024 season. "Look, I think you always, you know, make plans for kind of a whole squad. You know, I think with most test teams, especially India, you know, you have got a lot of depth. Most of us have played IPL and seen how many newcomers come in and kind of step up straight away," Cummins told reporters before the series opener on Friday. India would be without its designated skipper, Rohit Sharma, and possibly Shubman Gill, whose fitness remains a concern after he injured his thumb during a practice session. "So, yeah, they are missing a couple of guys we are more familiar with, but we know whoever they pick is going to be, well, they obviously think they're good enough for test cricket. So, yeah, we have done a bit of prep," he added. While India's squad features a mix of experience and youth, Australia stuck with the majority of the faces who featured in the team for the past two to three years. "It has basically been the same side for the last two or three years. So the week leading is very normal. It is all very relaxed. Everyone knows how they need to prepare. So it is pretty seamless, you know, all the meetings, training, all those kinds of things. We have done it heaps before with the same people," he said. "So, yeah, it is just about kind of reaffirming what we do really well. But I think that's been one of the strengths of our team is not only the consistency, but how well everyone gets on and how much we love playing together," Cummins noted. (ANI)
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