Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins caught the attention of Australian selectors very early and debuted in Test cricket as an 18-year-old. He shined on his debut, taking six wickets a full-strength South African side in Johannesburg in 2011. A career marred with repetitive injuries forced Cummins to play only white-ball cricket before he could come back into the national Test team and become the spearhead of the bowling attack.

Cummins had no real weakness but had a fragile body which resulted in the speedster not playing a single Test match for the next six years. The New South Wales (NSW) cricketer couldn’t capitalize on his sensational Test debut and with a career plagued with injuries.

Long before his Test debut, Cummins started playing for NSW in the domestic circuit and made his domestic debut in the 2010/11 season. However, he was particularly impressive in his first Big Bash League (BBL) season- topping the bowling charts with 11 scalps at an average of 14.09 and an impressive economy of just over 6.

Touted as the future of Australian pace bowling, Cummins became the youngest player to be offered a central contract by Cricket Australia (CA). 

Cummins improved his fitness level during the 2014/15 domestic season and was back in his old rhythm. As a result, the pacer was selected for the 2015 World Cup squad, but could only manage to play a couple of matches, picking up 5 wickets in the process. 

After a long wait of 6 years, Cummins finally made his much-awaited comeback in the Test arena against India in 2017. It was a litmus test for the pacer as the sub-continent wickets are not suitable to fast bowlers, but Cummins played back-to-back Test matches and showed that he can survive even in tough conditions.

His biggest test was against England in the Ashes series at home and Cummins was at his menacing best, picking up 23 wickets and was also a handy lower-order batsman, scoring two 40+ scores. 

Not just in red-ball cricket, Cummins displayed his prowesses in the shorter formats as well. In the away ODI series against India in 2019, Cummins registered 14 wickets in the 5-match series, as Australia defeated the hosts 3-2. 

The Sydney-based cricketer was then included in Australia’s 2019 World Cup squad and was very impressive with the ball. With 14 wickets to his name, Cummins, along with Mitchell Starc, spearheaded the Australian bowling attack. 

In the summer of 2019, when Australia toured England for the much-awaited Ashes series, Cummins yet again tormented the Poms by being the leading wicket-taker in the bilateral event, taking 29 wickets in 5 matches, at an average of 19.62. For his impressive performances in 2019, Cummins was felicitated with the Allan Border Medal in 2019.

At the end of 2019, Cummins topped the charts in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking and retained the spot towards the end of 2020 as well. 

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020, Cummins was one of the rare shining lights for the Aussies and was the chief destroyer with the bowl. The speedster took 21 wickets in 4 matches, but despite his heroics, Australia lost the series 1-2. 

He made his IPL debut with the KKR in 2014 but later was bought by the Delhi Daredevils for the IPL 2017. Cummins was the most expensive player to be bought by any team in the IPL 2020 auction for a whopping Rs 15.5 crore. He had an average tournament, and could only pick up 12 wickets in the 14 matches of the tournament. However, KKR did retain Cummins ahead of the 2021 IPL season.

Earmarked as a potential star from a very young age, Cummins has come a long way in his cricketing journey. He was constantly hampered with injuries and it felt as if he may never play for the Kangaroos again. However, he worked hard and displayed great tenacity to make a comeback. Cummins has been at his best for the past four years, and Australia would be hoping that he delivers more for his nation. That said, the Aussie team management needs to manage his workload well, looking at the hectic cricketing calendars ahead. 

(As of March 2021)