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Days after the conclusion of the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former cricketer Ricky Ponting on Wednesday heaped praise on Australia skipper Pat Cummins and said that he has grown as a leader.
Australia started the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 with a defeat at the Perth Test, however, the Aussies made a stupendous comeback in the series to clinch it by 3-1. It was an extraordinary series for the Aussie skipper Cummins as he brought back the BGT to Australia after almost a decade. Australia's last BGT win came in 2014-15. Cummins was the second-highest wicket-taker in the series with 25 dismissals at an average of 21.36. The Aussie skipper also scored 159 runs in the five-match series at a strike rate of 63.35 and an average of 19.88. Speaking in an episode of the ICC Review, Ponting said that Cummins has grown as a player. The former cricketer added that Cummins doesn't look around to anyone else when things get tough for him. "Pat has grown as a player, he's grown as a leader. Whenever things get tough as captain, he doesn't look around to anybody else. He brings himself straight back into the attack and more often than not gets the job done," Ponting was quoted by ICC as saying. Ponting also pointed out how 19-year-old Sam Konstas was the only youngster in the squad apart from whom everyone was above 30 years. He added that it will be a challenge for the Australian team to bring a new bunch of players into the squad. "There's not one player in their 20s in that team. You've got one at 19 and everyone else over 30. That's going to be the next challenge for this Australian group. That's going to be the next challenge for this Australian group, not just for the Australian team, but for Australian cricket is to bring on this new group of young players. There's not many opportunities that present themselves," he added. India had their chances in the fifth Test at Sydney but frittered them away. Jasprit Bumrah's injury also aggravated matters for the visitors in the final few sessions of the match. Australia won by six wickets, which also ended India's hope of making it to the World Test Championship finals. (ANI)
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