Pat Cummins, the Australian captain, referred to India as his second home before joining SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the 2024 IPL season. Acquired for ₹20.50 crore, he is now the second most expensive player in IPL history, and there are indications that he might be named the captain for the upcoming season according to recent reports.
In an interview with Star Sports, Cummins expressed that it’s a positive experience when the entire Indian crowd isn’t cheering against you.
“India is like a second home. We spend so much time here. IPL you’ve got your home teams. So you actually feel like you’ve got plenty of fans Or, you know, at least cricket fans that have, you know, supported you or, you know, lots of people come up to me and say, Oh, I’m from Kolkata or I go for KKR. So it’s nice feeling like not everyone’s against you,” said Cummins.
SRH is eager to bounce back following a challenging previous season, concluding at the bottom of the points table with four wins in 14 games. On the other hand, Cummins has had two periods with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014-15 and 2020-22, along with a single season with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2017.
“Facing Virat is consistently a positive experience”- Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins valued his competitive encounters with Indian cricket sensation Virat Kohli, acknowledging that they both had their moments of success against each other.
Despite not dismissing Kohli in IPL and other T20 matches, the Australian bowler has achieved five dismissals in Tests, two in ODIs, and one in T20Is against the champion batter in international cricket.
“I’m just a big believer in concentrating on what I do. Those guys are are that good, if you’re just a little bit off, they’ll find a way to kind of put you off your game. So, um yeah, it’s always good coming up against Virat. He’s got me a few times. I’ve got him a few times. It’s always pretty good,” said Cummins.
Indian supporters may wish to erase the recent memory of Cummins crucially dismissing Kohli in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, contributing to Australia’s victory.
The Australian captain has participated in 42 IPL matches in his career, securing 45 wickets with an average above 30 and an economy rate of 8.54.
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