'I just absolutely loved it' - Pat Cummins recalls his first tour to India

It is no secret that India is crazy for cricket. The thrill, energy and excitement that one feels while playing in an Indian cricket stadium can’t be felt anywhere else in the world as here the fans are emotionally involved with the game. Since his debut for Australia in 2011, the pace merchant Pat Cummins has risen through the ranks to successfully establish himself as one of the mainstays of Australia’s bowling line-up.

The pacer shared a vlog on his official YouTube channel where he recalled his first visit to India. Cummins revealed that he visited India for the first time in 2011 for the Champions League T20. Then 18-year-old Cummins was playing for New South Wales, and was stunned to see the Indian crowds going wild. Reminiscing his memories from the tour, Cummins exclaimed that he was playing against some of the superstars like  Sachin Tendulkar, David Warner and Shane Watson.

“The first time I landed in India was in 2011 to play the Champions League. I was playing for New South Wales and had just turned 18. That was the first time I had traveled overseas for cricket and growing up you hear all the stories of playing cricket in India and I just absolutely loved it,” Cummins said in the latest vlog uploaded on his Youtube channel.

“We played against some superstars, I think Sachin Tendulkar was playing in that tournament. As an 18-year-old coming here and hearing the crowd go crazy I couldn’t believe it. In the warm-up, David Warner and Shane Watson, who were on our side whenever they ran to the boundary, the crowd would just go crazy. It’s so different from Australia. We were here for three or four and I couldn’t get enough of it,” he further added.

I quite enjoy coming out here and swinging the bat: Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins is widely renowned for rattling the opposition with his raw pace and swing. However, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought out a new side of Cummins. Playing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since IPL 2020, the speedster has also delivered a handful of blistering performances with the willow. The 28-year-old emerged as a competent lower-middle order batter who can hit the ball really hard and smack boundaries and maximums.

Speaking about his batting, the Australia stalwart reckoned that he enjoys playing with the bat and likes the feeling of walking in the middle and just swinging the willow. “I do (enjoy batting), yeah, sure. Especially when you’re batting kind of like seven or eight you’ve got a small window normally to make an impact so you’re going to try to work on being able to hit from ball one.

“I spend a lot of time being a boring Test batter, I can’t score runs. So I quite enjoy coming out here and swinging the bat. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t,” he signed off.