WTC Final: ICC Test Championship Final: Australia-South Africa, Cummins statement

Australian captain Pat Cummins has no objection that he did not face India in Lord’s final in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025. Cummins was asked if he was surprised to see South Africa as an opponent, then the Australian captain replied that although he often hopes to look at India around, it was ‘good and different’ to face the protiaz.

Cummins has played several important knock-out matches against the Indian team in the last two years. In 2023, his team defeated Rohit Sharma’s team in the WTC final in England and India and the ODI World Cup finals. In 2024, he lost to India in the T20 World Cup super-set game and lost by four wickets in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai earlier this year.

Cummins told The Guardian, “Somehow you hopes that India will be around. England has been very strong at home and New Zealand always appears to reach the finals. But the same can be said for South Africa in ICC events. We do not see them much in Test cricket, but Australia-India is different and good from the final.”

Cummins also rejected the opinion of cricket pundits who underestimate South Africa. Michael Vaughan said that the protigns were not able to be in the final as they defeated ‘almost no one’, referring to weak rivals like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Cummins said, “You can defeat only those you faced. The path to our finals was quite difficult, but I do not blame South Africa for adopting a different path.”

When he was asked about the possibilities of Temba Bavuma and his team in Lords, he said, “It is difficult to say because there are many unknown things. We have not played much against him but you should really be well balanced to reach the finals. His bowling has always been fantastic and there is no difference now. Keshav Maharaj is a very solid spinner and he always has many fast bowlers who challenge.”