Australia divided over Kohli vs Bumrah debate; Rohit Sharma ignored; Pat Cummins delivers brutal response

During a recent interview, Australian players were asked which Indian player they'd like to have on their team. Surprisingly, India's captain Rohit Sharma was the unanimous choice among all the players present, except for a split between Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Australia's captain Pat Cummins, however, had the most interesting response of all.

Kohli does have a huge fan following in Australia, which was clearly evident from how the Australian media marketed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in the build-up to the contest with image of the former India captain representing the team and even making the headlines.

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transform: rotate(32deg); animation: shinerMooving 3s infinite; z-index: 1; filter: blur(1px); } @keyframes shinerMooving { 0% { left: -40px; } 100% { left: 150%; } } Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs Check Full Coverage

Later in the opening Test in Perth, Kohli smashed his 80th international century, 30th in the format, seventh against Australia and first in 16 months as India scripted a record 295-run win.

Following the match, that left Australia trailing 0-1 in the five-Test series, Australia players, in an interview with ABC Sports was asked which Indian player would they like to pick their Test team. Nathan Lyon kicked off the proceedings, saying, "a batting order with Smith, Marnus and Virat in it, that would be pretty handy." Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey agreed to it, as both showed eagerness to share the dressing room with Kohli.

"I think it would be pretty cool to play with Virat," said Marsh.

"I would love to play with Virat Kohli. Just a superstar, person and player," said Carey.

Maxwell, who played alongside Kohli in IPL for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and shares a good rapport with the 36-year-old, admitted he wasn't surprises that the Indian would emerge as a popular choice among the Australian players, as he hailed the star batter for his consistent shows against Australia, across formats.

"Well, it's probably hard to get past my RCB teammate. Virat. That's gonna be a popular answer. I don't really care what he does against other nations. But it seems like every time against Australia, he grows a couple of inches and just brings his best performances. He'll be hard work this summer," said Maxwell.

Whom did Pat Cummins pick?

Besides Kohli, the only other popular choice was Bumrah, who was the Player of the Match in India's record win in Perth. Leading the team for the second time in his career in the format, Bumrah picked up a five-wicket haul in the opening innings, before adding three more to his tally. Steve Smith and Travis Head picked Bumrah, with the latter explaining that it was only so that he would not have to face him.

"Bumrah. Yeah, he's pretty good. Good skill set," said Smith.

"Bumrah. Don't have to face him," said Head.

However, Cummins, in a cheeky response, picked none, leaving the anchor in splits.

India and Australia will next face each other in a Pink Ball Test in Adelaide on December 6. Ahead of the match, India will play a two-day warm-up game against Prime Minister's XI in Canberra in the pink ball format.

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