"It'll be fun at both ends" - Ravi Shastri names one Australian he'd like to see play for India ahead of BGT 2024-25 5th Test

Ravi Shastri has revealed which Australian player he would like to see play for Team India. The 62-year-old believes Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah will make up for a lethal new-ball bowling combination, claiming it will be 'fun' to watch from both ends.

Cummins, who took over as Australia's Test captain ahead of the 2021-22 Ashes series, has done a terrific job thus far. With Australia suffering a crushing 295-run defeat to India in the series-opener in Perth, the 31-year-old has rallied around his teammates to edge 2-1 ahead after the Boxing Day Test.

When asked by Sanjana Ganesan which Australian he would have playing for India, Shastri didn't think much and took Cummins' name, having watched him go about his work over the years. He told the ICC Review:

"Pat Cummins. Just get Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah together. We’ll have some fun. It will be fun at both ends. Let the guys go. I watched him from the dressing room a lot, over the 10 years, from 2014 to 2023, so almost three Australian series, I watched him in Australia."

"And my admiration for him just went higher and higher because his approach is much like Jasprit’s. It's no-nonsense, there's no flamboyance, there's no flash involved there, they just go about their job like true professionals and they're tough as nails," he added.

The New South Welshman earned the Player of the Match award in the Boxing Day Test for his all-round efforts as Australia beat India by 184 runs. With the bat, he scored 49 and 41 alongside taking three wickets each in two innings.

"He can easily carry on for another 12 months to 18 months" - Ravi Shastri on Steve Smith

Steve Smith. (Image Credits: Getty)

With Australia's premier batter Steve Smith in his twilight years, Shastri said more often than not, it depends upon a player's willingness to carry on. In the same interview, he said:

"It depends on him (Steve Smith). See at that age it's only that player's mind that will tell you. They could just get up one day and say, ‘I've had enough.’ Are they prepared to do the travelling? Are they prepared to do the hard yards? Can their body take it? Only they'll know. But on evidence, he can easily carry on for another 12 months to 18 months, quite easily."

After starting the series with a golden duck, Smith hit consecutive centuries in Brisbane and Melbourne in trying conditions.