Pat Cummins on playing 2 spinners in 1st Test vs India: 'I wouldn't say it's a given'

When asked about playing two spinners in the playing XI, Australia captain Pat Cummins said they have plenty of options to choose from for the 1st Test vs India.

FPJ Web Desk Updated: Saturday, February 04, 2023, 08:22 PM IST

Australia captain Pat Cummins said on Saturday that his team will assess the conditions in Nagpur before taking a call on the team selection for the first Test against India starting February 9.

When asked about playing two spinners in the playing XI, Cummins said they have plenty of options to choose from.

"I wouldn't say [two spinners is] a given. Obviously it's very conditions-dependent, particularly in the first Test. Once we get to Nagpur, we will see.

"But yeah, I think sometimes talking about a couple of spinners, you forget how good a lot of our fast bowlers have been in all conditions.

"We've got plenty of bowling options here - fingerspin, wristspin, left-arm [spin], and Starcy [Mitchell Starc] when he comes back down the line.

"So yeah, we've obviously picked the bowlers that we think can take 20 wickets. How we are going to split that up, we are not 100% sure yet," the Test skipper told reporters in Bengaluru were they have been training.

Australia look to end 9-year drought

The four Tests will be played in Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad before the three ODIs in Mumbai, Vizag and Chennai. The Tests will be played from Feb 9 to March 9 while the ODIs will start from March 17.

Australia have not won the Border-Gavaskar series since 2014-15, with India emerging victorious on the last three occasions. The last two BGT Test series were won by India in Australia.

Published on: Saturday, February 04, 2023, 08:22 PM IST

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