Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has shared his thoughts on SunRisers Hyderabad’s decision to sign Australia’s World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins. Pathan feels that SRH might be aiming to capitalize on Pat Cummins’ recent achievements with the Australian cricket team.
For the unversed, SunRisers Hyderabad acquired the services of Pat Cummins for INR 20.50 crore in the IPL 2024 mini-auction, making him the second-highest-priced player in the history of IPL. Impressed with his ODI World Cup 2023 captaincy, SRH decided to appoint Pat Cummins as their captain for the upcoming IPL 2024.
Irfan Pathan Made A Blunt Remark On SRH’s New Captain Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins replaced Aiden Markram, under whom the team finished in the last place last season. Cummins impressed one and all with his captaincy in the ODI and Test format, having led the team to triumphs in the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup last year. Australia defeated India in both the finals. But one can’t deny that he lacks significant T20 captaincy experience at any level. On the other hand, Aiden Markram recently led SunRisers Eastern Capte to back-to-back wins in the SA20 tournament.
Meanwhile, in a conversation with Star Sports, Irfan Pathan opened up on SRH’s decision to appoint Pat Cummins as their captain for the upcoming season. He feels that SRH has taken a risk on Cummins’ momentum. He said:
“Sunrisers Hyderabad taking punt on Pat Cummins momentum which is especially good for him from last two seasons be it ICC 50 overs World Cup and WTC final and the way he is performing at an international level,”
It has to be noted that Cummins has previously struggled in the IPL, picking just 45 wickets in 42 wickets with an average of over 30 and an economy rate of 8.54. His last appearance in the tournament was in 2022, representing KKR. Irfan Pathan also talked about Cummins’ IPL statistics, however, he remained positive about improvement. He said:
“My doubt is only there as his IPL numbers are not that great eight and half economy in the IPL which is quite high for a premier quality fast bowler, hopefully that can change in one season, so Sunrisers Hyderabad will be hoping he will able to come and lead the side to the victory which they haven’t got it from some time now but I certainly think that T20 cricket is a different form of game compare to 50 overs and test cricket,”
SRH will kickstart their IPL 2024 campaign with a match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, March 23, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
