'The Ashes went quickly and it was satisfying...But this was my first big tour where I wasn't a new captain any more'
The Test series victory in Pakistan on Friday left Australia captain Pat Cummins excited about the team's prospects when they tour Sri Lanka in a few months and India next year.
Cummins joined Richie Benaud and Mark Taylor as the only Australian captains to lead their team to a series victory in Pakistan when his side clinched the deciding third Test in Lahore by 115 runs for a 1-0 win.
The 28-year-old fast bowler was handed the reins of the Test side in November when Tim Paine stepped down amid a sexting scandal shortly before an Ashes series at home.
Cummins showed very few nerves against arch-rivals England and inspired the side to a comprehensive 4-0 win and is now unbeaten in his eight Tests as Australia captain.
"It's one of just immense satisfaction for me," Cummins told reporters. "Everyone is just totally elated."
"Winning the Ashes series was huge but winning overseas doesn't happen very often."
Cummins arrived in Pakistan with a side touring the country for the first time in 24 years.
"The Ashes went quickly and it was satisfying," Cummins said. "But this was my first big tour where I wasn't a new captain any more."
"We were playing overseas, foreign conditions... a group of 30-odd people here, players and staff on a mission to try and win the series. And as a captain, that's a big responsibility."
"So I think this one is just incredibly satisfying and has shown that our group here is a very good cricket team."
The sub-continent, with its slow, low and spin-friendly tracks, is often described as the final frontier for teams who thrive on hard and bouncy wickets more suited to fast bowling.
Australia will play two Tests in Sri Lanka when they tour the country in June and July for the first time since 2016 and will returns to South Asia for a tour of India, who have won 15 consecutive series at home.
"We won the Ashes but we haven't been really (in) Tests overseas," Cummins said.
"The amount of confidence we will get out of winning over here, not just as a team but every individual showed... their game can stand up to Asian conditions. It's huge for Sri Lanka later in the year, India next year. So yeah, that's awesome."
