Australian skipper Pat Cummins is set to be the new captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. It was announced through the social media handles of the Orange Army. Bought by the franchise for a whopping sum of Rs. 20.50 crore in the auctions last December, the Australian World Cup winner holds the record of being the second-costliest player in the IPL history.
He takes over the reins from South African Aiden Markram, who captained in the previous edition of the Cash Rich League. Even though the cricketer enjoyed unprecedented success for the SRH’s South African franchise, Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20, his IPL captaincy has attracted various criticism after failing to qualify for the play-off last year. SRH finished with only four wins in 14 games under his captaincy, while his personal records were also not good. He scored only 248 runs at a strike rate of 129.
Meanwhile, Cummins stock as a captain has risen since winning the Test Championship and the 50-over World Cup, but he has not led an IPL side before. This move ensures the flexibility of SRH playing their new signings, Travis Head and Wanindu Hasaranga, along with Heinrich Klaasen as a finisher in place of Markram if they want to, with Cummins slotting in as an overseas fast bowler. Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi and South Africa’s Marco Jansen are the other quicks, with Glen Phillips, a wicketkeeping option, rounding off the eight overseas players.
With the appointment of the Cummins, he is set to be the third captain in three seasons after Kane Williamson and Aiden Markram. In addition to the captaincy change, SRH has also brought a new face to their management. Former New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori is set to replace Brian Lara as the head coach and James Franklin as the bowling coach.
SRH began their IPL 2024 campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on March 23. The team combination that the Orange Army fields will be interesting to watch as Cummins takes up one of the four overseas slots available. The key will be to maintain balance between the batting and bowling departments of the team. Eyes will be on the Indian batters Rahul Tripathi, Mayank Agarwal, and Abhishek Sharma to deliver in pressure conditions. Umran Malik and T Natrajan will also be under the pump to perform after a disappointing year last year.