The Indian Premier League auctions are always a bit unpredictable, where unexpected players end up fetching the fattest of the pay-cheques. However, not many eyebrows were raised when Kolkata Knight Riders shelled out INR 15.5 Crores for the Australian pacer Pat Cummins. And why should anyone have a doubt? Cummins has been phenomenal for his national team in the last year.
In the 12 Test matches he played for the baggy greens, Pat Cummins picked up as many as 59 wickets. He has been impressive in ODIs as well, picking up 31 wickets in 16 ODIs. Hence, he rightfully holds the pole position in ICC’s rankings of Test bowlers. As far as ODIs is concerned, he holds an impressive rank of fifth.
The Australian fans and former cricketers are elated with the performances of the tall speedster. Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was recently asked who is the best bowler at this point, and the World Cup-winning captain had no hesitation in answering. A Twitter used named Jugnu asked Ponting “Currently who is the best fast bowler of world cricket?” To this, Ponting replied, “I think what Pat Cummins has done over the last 12 months has him clearly the best fast bowler in the world.”
I think what Pat Cummins has done over the last 12 months has him clearly the best fast bowler in the world https://t.co/mtdsYB8tdH
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) January 12, 2020
Some other interesting answers
In a Q&A segment he organized on Twitter, the legend of Australian cricket was asked some tough questions, to which he gave some interesting answers. A winner of multiple World Cups, Ponting was asked: “Which is your favorite WC win you were part of – 1999, 2003 or 2007?” Punter replied by saying “For me, it’s 2007 because when we got there the overriding sentiment from the media and the public was that our team and certain players in our team were way past their best. But we had another undefeated campaign.”
Ponting is currently the coach of Delhi Capitals in IPL. Regarding the challenges of coaching in IPL, Ponting stated “The biggest challenge you face coaching an IPL team is how late most of your overseas players arrive. When you’re trying to build team plans and team culture, it’s really hard to do in such a short space of time.” He also revealed that Andrew Flintoff is the toughest English bowler he faced.
