Pat Cummins Names Toughest Indian Batter He Faced & It Isn’t Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma | Cricket News

Last Updated:September 19, 2026, 09:27 IST

Pat Cummins has named Cheteshwar Pujara as the toughest Indian batter he faced, comparing bowling to the retired India star to ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’.

Pat Cummins celebrates dismissing Mushfiqur Rahim (Picture credit: AFP)

Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has said that bowling to Cheteshwar Pujara felt like ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’, as he named the former Indian cricketer the toughest Indian batter that he has faced.

During a recent interaction, Cummins was asked to name the toughest opponents he has faced from different nations during his trophy-laden career. The star pacer picked Pujara, saying that the former Indian batter’s grit and determination made him a tough opponent to dismiss.

Pujara remained one of the most difficult batters that Australians have bowled to, with the batter playing massive roles in India’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

“India, I am going to say, Pujara. He is really hard to get out. It is just it is like death by a thousand paper cuts. Happy to face 100 dot balls if he wanted to. He isn’t going to give you a chance,” Cummins said while speaking to Prime Video Sport.

For Pakistan, Cummins picked former spinner Saeed Ajmal, describing him as a one-of-a-kind bowler.

“Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal. It was like the last ball of the over; I walked in, Saeed Ajmal just goes and I went, what? Clean bowled. I have never seen anything like that,” Cummins said.

Cummins also named Alastair Cook (England), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Brendon McCullum (New Zealand), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) and Chris Gayle (West Indies) among the most difficult opponents he has faced.

But Cummins’ list featured just players who have since retired from international cricket.

Pujara announced his retirement from international cricket in 2025 after scoring 7,195 runs in 103 Tests for India at an average of 43.6, including 19 hundreds and 35 fifties.

Pujara represented India in five ODIs as well, scoring 51 runs

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Which former Indian cricketer did Pat Cummins name as the toughest Indian batter he has faced?

Pat Cummins named Cheteshwar Pujara as the toughest Indian batter he has faced, describing the experience as feeling like ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’ due to his immense grit and determination.

What did Pat Cummins say about bowling to Cheteshwar Pujara?

Cummins stated that Pujara was extremely difficult to dismiss and was quite happy to face 100 dot balls without giving the bowling side any chance.

When did Cheteshwar Pujara announce his retirement from international cricket?

Cheteshwar Pujara announced his retirement from international cricket in 2025 after playing 103 Test matches for India.

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