SYDNEY: Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins has been lauded for his leadership qualities as he won the hearts of many fans across the globe with a brilliant gesture for batter Usman Khawaja during the Ashes trophy celebration.
Australia were very strong throughout the series, winning four of the five matches but prevented from a complete whitewash with England forcing a draw in the fourth Test.
As his euphoric teammates started popping champagne bottles on the stage at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval, Khawaja stepped aside to avoid being sprayed with alcohol in keeping with his religious beliefs.
This might be a small gesture but this is what makes Pat Cummins great. He realised Khawaja had to dip because of the booze and rectifies it. pic.twitter.com/GNVsPGJhfK
— Fux League (@buttsey888) January 16, 2022
However, Cummins called back Khawaja to join the trophy celebrations and stopped his teammates to keep the champagne bottles away. Khawaja returned to the stage and kneeled beside Cummins as the victorious side let out a roar posing for the cameras.
“Usman is obviously Muslim, so he doesn’t like the champagne being thrown,” Cummins, who also finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series victory over England, told journalists.
He continued, “I just made sure he got up there and no champagne was thrown.” Cummins’ “classy” gesture went viral on social media and was praised by fans as wells as former England cricketer Isa Guha.
Pat Cummins ❤️ https://t.co/ZjEyxfEL87
— Isa Guha (@isaguha) January 16, 2022
“Good leader always looks after the team as a whole and respects everyone equally and @patcummins30 has shown to be that leader,” former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul said on Twitter.
Good leader always looks after the team as a whole and respects everyone equally and @patcummins30 has shown to be that leader. Enjoy the win @CricketAus
— Umar Gul (@mdk_gul) January 16, 2022
