'Death by a thousand paper cuts' - Pat Cummins reveals toughest Indian opponent

Pat Cummins has named Cheteshwar Pujara as the toughest Indian batter he faced in international cricket, overlooking both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The Australia Test captain made the choice while listing his most difficult opponents from seven major cricketing nations.

The interaction was shared on September 18, 2026. Cummins described Pujara's approach at the crease in direct terms, explaining why the former India No. 3 stood apart from more celebrated names in the batting order. Setting up his India pick, Cummins said the right-hander was simply very difficult to dismiss.

"India, I'm going to say Pujara. He's really hard to get out. It's just It's like death by a thousand paper cuts. Happy to face 100 dot balls if he wanted to. He's not going to give you a chance," Cummins said in a video released by Prime Video Sport.

Pujara's Test career record

Pujara announced his retirement from international cricket in 2025. He finished his Test career with 7,195 runs across 103 matches at an average of 43.60, including 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries. He also appeared in five ODIs, scoring 51 runs. Cummins dismissed Pujara eight times in Test cricket across their head-to-head contests.

Pujara played a key role in India's Border-Gavaskar Trophy victories in 2018-19 and 2020-21, series in which Australia were beaten on home soil. Those performances placed him at the centre of some of the most competitive Test cricket between the two sides in recent years.

Cummins list of tough opponents

Cummins also named his toughest opponents from six other nations, and every player on the list has retired from international cricket. For Pakistan, he recalled being clean bowled by the right-arm spinner Saeed Ajmal in a striking fashion.

"Pakistan, Syed Ajmal. It was like last ball of the over, I walked in, Syed Ajmal just goes, and I went, what? Clean bowled. I've never seen anything like that," Cummins said.

His other picks included Alastair Cook for England, who finished his Test career with 12,472 runs at an average of 45.35 from 161 matches including 33 centuries. AB de Villiers was his South Africa choice, while Chris Gayle represented the West Indies. Both De Villiers and Gayle were former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammates. He named Brendon McCullum for New Zealand and Tilakaratne Dilshan for Sri Lanka.

Cummins is currently on a planned break from international cricket and has not featured in Australia's ongoing three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. Mitchell Marsh is leading the side in his absence. Cummins is preparing for Australia's upcoming multi-format tour of South Africa, which includes three ODIs and three Tests, with the Test leg scheduled to begin on October 9, 2026.