Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has raised doubts about Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) appointing Pat Cummins as their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season.
In 2023, Cummins had a fantastic year leading Australia to victory in both the ICC World Test Championship and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. He also performed exceptionally well in the Ashes series, ensuring that his team retained the Ashes urn.
Cummins, who was named the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2023, was signed by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the IPL 2024 season. The franchise spent a massive ₹20.50 crore to secure his services at the auction in Dubai.
Irfan Pathan Questioned SRH For Appointing Pat Cummins As Captain
Following speculation surrounding his appointment, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) officially announced on Monday, March 4, that Pat Cummins would be taking over as captain from Aiden Markram, who had a lackluster stint as skipper in the previous season.
Expressing his thoughts on Cummins’ leadership role at SRH, Irfan Pathan acknowledged Cummins’ success as a captain in other formats but raised concerns about his performance in T20 cricket.
Speaking on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan said:
“When you talk about leadership, you wouldn’t want to think beyond Cummins ideally. Australia just won the World Cup under him; he’s performed really well in the last one and a half years. But the problem is that Cummins will look nice overall. However, when it comes to T20 leadership, there’s nothing. His performance isn’t the greatest in T20 cricket and his IPL numbers aren’t decent either,”
While Aiden Markram struggled as captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he found success in the SA20 league, leading the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to consecutive titles.
🚨 PAT CUMMINS APPOINTED AS SRH CAPTAIN FOR IPL 2024…!!! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/0SOWnvIM7G
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 4, 2024
SRH faces a dilemma in selecting four overseas players for the playing XI due to the abundance of talent in their squad. With players like Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Glenn Phillips, Aiden Markram, and Marco Jansen vying for spots, it’s a tough decision.
Irfan Pathan also pointed out that Hasaranga and Jansen might struggle to secure a place in the XI given the stiff competition from other strong overseas players. He said:
“So there will be a challenge. What is SRH thinking? They’ve made a big move here. If Cummins is made captain, what about Markram? You gave him captaincy just for one year, so wouldn’t you want to back him? That is a big question.”
He added: “If they both play, [Wanindu] Hasaranga will struggle to make his place in the team. Even Marco Jansen could sit out because there are too many overseas players. So there are a lot of issues. SRH need to figure out what they have to do because even Klaasen is an overseas player. And I want personally that Hasaranga becomes part of that Playing XI. Forget leadership, how will Cummins perform as a bowler? That remains to be seen,”
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 is scheduled to commence on March 22, starting off at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the home ground of the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Cricket enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the opening match of the tournament, which promises to set the stage for another exciting season of IPL action.
