'Don't take us lightly, we're here to win': Pat Cummins issues warning to India ahead of T20I series

Australian pacer Pat Cummins has issued a warning to the Indian team ahead of the start of the upcoming three-match T20I series between the two sides. India will host Australia in the three-match rubber which can prove to be perfect preparation for both teams ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia next month.

Australia are missing a number of key players in the T20I series against India as star batter David Warner has been rested while the likes of Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc and Marcus Stoinis are out with injuries. However, Cummins has warned India no to take the Aussies lightly as they still have a strong team and will look to earn positive results.

Cummins also expressed confidence in his abilities and said he is in peak shape raring to go against the hosts. The right-arm pacer is making his comeback for Australia after two months as he last featured for the national side during their tour of Sri Lanka in July this year.

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"Don’t take us lightly; we are here to win. We understand some of the players are missing, but no one can still afford us to take lightly,"Cummins said during a press conference ahead of the first T20I between India and Australia on Tuesday.

"I’m pretty keen to play quite a lot so that come the World Cup I feel like my game is in really good order," he added.

Australia will head into the World Cup next month as the defending champions and arguably one of the favourites to win the title at home. Aaron Finch will continue leading the team in the shortest format after he retired from ODIs recently.

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The three-match serieswill be a good test for the Indian team as the hosts will look to bounce back after their disappointing campaign in the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022 where they failed to make it to the final after facing back-to-back defeats against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

However, India have performed exceedingly well under new captain Rohit Sharma in T20Is since the T20 World Cup last year, barring their recent blip at the Asia Cup. India are yet to lose a bilateral T20I series under Rohit and will be aiming to keep the record intact against the Aussies.