Australia Test captain Pat Cummins spoke about Cheteshwar Pujara’s absence from the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, calling it a shame. Pujara played several match-winning knocks against the Aussies in the longest format. Cummins feels India will be able to find a suitable replacement for the legendary batter.

Cummins mentioned that bowling to Pujara was a real Test cricket as his defence was impossible to breach. The right-handed batter was one of the key reasons behind India’s two Test series win in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

His ability to defend against the best bowlers was enough to demoralise the bowling attack of the rivals.a

“It was great to play against him. He didn’t allow the bowlers to dominate and was one step ahead,” Pat Cummins said on Star Sports.

“I enjoyed bowling against him. There were days when he won and I also tasted success on some days. Pujara is a great cricketer and it is going to be a different kind of feeling with him not being around,” he added.

Cummins further said that their battles were about dominance.

“We wanted to dominate each other. He had his say against me but there was always a chance for me to take his wicket. It is a shame that he will not be playing in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”

Pat compared the rivalry between India and Australia to the Ashes. “It is right up there with the Ashes. We have achieved some good results against England. With India winning back-to-back series in Australia, the matches against them have become interesting for everyone.”