Pat Cummins, newly appointed as skipper of SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), has joined the franchise’s camp on Tuesday, March 19, ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). The star fast bowler was acquired by the 2016 champions for an impressive sum of ₹20.5 crore at the IPL 2024 mini-auction.
SRH is eager for a significant turnaround after finishing at the bottom of the table twice in the last three seasons. Their last playoff appearance was in the 2020 edition.
Despite Aiden Markram’s success leading SRH’s sister franchise, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, to the SA20 title twice consecutively, the team management opted for the bold move of appointing Cummins as Hyderabad’s new captain.
The upcoming IPL will be Cummins’ inaugural significant captaincy role in the shortest format. While the speedster has led Australia to major victories in Test and ODI formats, including the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, respectively, this will be his first leadership role in T20 cricket.
He was considered as a potential candidate for Australia’s T20I captaincy after Aaron Finch’s retirement, but Mitchell Marsh was appointed ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Cummins recently made his return to T20I cricket during the series against New Zealand, marking his first appearance since the 2022 T20 World Cup. He played two matches in the three-match series, claiming two wickets, including a decisive spell in Auckland.
Captain Cummins is here to #PlayWithFire 🔥🧡 pic.twitter.com/bEwjsxECFe
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 19, 2024
In addition to the change in captaincy, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have overhauled their coaching staff, with Daniel Vettori taking over as head coach from Brian Lara. Dale Steyn, the fast-bowling coach, opted for a break from his role, resulting in James Franklin’s appointment.
“India feels like a second home”- Pay Cummins
Since the beginning of the IPL, India has become a more familiar environment for overseas players. In 2023, Australian players spent nearly six months in India, participating in various events including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the IPL, multiple bilateral ODI and T20I series, and the ODI World Cup.
“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, I’m from Kolkata or I go for KKR. So it’s nice feeling like not everyone’s against you,” Cummins had said after SRH appointed him as the skipper.
SRH will begin their IPL 2024 journey by facing Cummins’ previous team, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), on Saturday, March 23rd.
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