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When Pat Cummins Was Brutally Trolled By Media For His Comments On Virat Kohli

image-lrix1bdlPat Cummins (L) and Virat Kohli (R). (X..com)

Having played against India on numerous occasions in the past across formats, Australian captain Pat Cummins is well-versed in dealing with the Indian media and fans. There was an incident when Cummins was bashed left, right and center on social media after he commented on the eve of the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Test series that Virat Kohli wouldn't score a century.

With India never having won a Test series in Australia, anticipation and verbal exchanges were rife ahead of the series. Although Cummins wasn't the captain at that time, he played a crucial role in the playing eleven and was a prominent figure in pre-series banter.

In the buildup to the Border-Gavaskar series in 2018, Cummins made a bold statement, predicting that Kohli would not score a hundred in the four-match series. 

"I think Virat Kohli’s not going to get a hundred, and we’re going to knock them off over here,"  said Cummins before the home series in 2018-19.

These comments didn't go unnoticed, and Cummins found himself in hot water as Indian media and fans took to social media to troll him for making such a remark about a player of Virat Kohli's stature.

When Cummins Landed Himself in Trouble

During a podcast with 'The Grade Cricketer' in 2021, Cummins was asked whether he finds it challenging to deal with Australian or Indian media. Without hesitation, the Australian fast bowler pointed out that dealing with Indian media is more challenging. He cited the example of his 2018-19 comments on Kohli, noting that expressing anything negative about the Indian cricket star leads to relentless scrutiny. 

Cummins humorously reflected on the aftermath of his comments, stating, 

"If you live on social media at all, you get absolutely hounded. Say anything bad about Virat Kohli and lookout for the next … years. I thought it was a bit of a compliment (his comments in 2018 about Virat Kohli), being like, ‘He’s a great player, hope he doesn’t score a 100 because he’s a gun player. My phone just blew up. (The Indian media) have got a long memory."

Cummins' prediction went wrong as Kohli defied the odds by scoring a century on a challenging Perth wicket during the second Test of the 2018-19 series, which India won 2-1. While Kohli had a relatively quiet series by his lofty standards, managing only one hundred, he left a significant impact with his captaincy, leading India to a historic series win in Australia, their first on Australian soil.

These two stalwarts are set to face each other once again when India and Australia lock horns in a five-match Test series later this year.