Cummins would have unsettled Tendulkar 038; Co: Waugh

Waugh says India have been playing in pretty flat decks and against not really quick attacks.

Former Australia captain,Steve Waugh feels that teen pace sensation Pat Cummins,who is likely to miss the home Test series against India due to a heel injury,would have tested the likes of veterans Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

He Cummins would have unsettled those guys and with he and James Pattinson together that would have been a real test for the 35-pluses in the Indian side,who have been playing in pretty flat decks and against not really quick attacks, Waugh said.

Waugh,however,was critical of the way the rookie pacers were handled by Cricket Australia,saying it was 8216;ridiculous8217; to promote the youngsters8217; to the rigours of Test cricket without letting their bodies get 8216;match-hardened8217;.

It8217;s pretty ridiculous that you8217;ve got young blokes who are talented and take the next step but haven8217;t had enough overs under their belt, he was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Maybe they are not match-hardened enough for that next level, he pointed out. Waugh,however,maintained that it would have been worth to witness the duel between the Indian veterans and young Australian fast bowlers.

It would have been great for the crowds to see that. India will be very pleased not to see Pat Cummins in the side, he insisted.

The 18-year-old fast bowler was ruled out of the second Test against South Africa and the subsequent home series against New Zealand after he suffered a heel injury while playing in his debut match in Johannesburg last month.

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Though,he has not been officially ruled out of the entire Test series against India starting December 26 in Melbourne,Cummins is unlike to feature in the upcoming four Tests.

To play Test cricket you need to be bowling a lot beforehand. Probably he8217;s not going to bowl for anywhere between four and six weeks,depending on how he8217;s going, Australian team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said.

Kountouris conceded that it would be a tough task to get Cummins back on the field before the Adelaide Test.

It8217;s going to be hard to bring him back up for the latter part of the Indian series, he added.