3 major challenges for Pat Cummins to address as SRH captain
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have named Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins as their new skipper for the Indian Premier League 2024 season. The right-arm pacer and hard-hitting lower-order batter will replace South Africa’s Aiden Markram. Under Markram, the Hyderabad franchise finished last in IPL 2023, with four wins and 10 losses.
Cummins (30) was purchased by SunRisers Hyderabad at the IPL 2024 mini-auction for a whopping ₹20.50 crore. Briefly, he held the record for being the most expensive purchase in the history of the IPL auction until Kolkata Knight Riders bought his Australian teammate Mitchell Starc for ₹24.75 crore.
Although Markram led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back title triumphs in the SA20, Cummins seemed the favorite to take over as SRH captain once he was purchased by the franchise at the auction.
Under his leadership, Australia won the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup in 2023, beating India in the final both times. As Cummins takes over as SRH captain, we analyze three major challenges for him in his new role:
#1 Instilling confidence in an underperforming franchise
As a franchise, SRH have looked completely disjointed over the last few seasons. No wonder that they have been regularly finishing in the bottom half of the IPL points table. Hyderabad were crowned IPL champions in 2016 and finished runners-up in 2018, but those impressive performances seem like a distant memory.
SRH finished eighth in the 2021 and 2022 IPL seasons and last in 2023. The shocking performances have coincided with troubles within the team. David Warner was replaced as captain midway through the 2021 season after a string of losses and his poor form.
Kane Williamson replaced him as leader for the rest of the season, but there was not much change in SRH’s fortunes. They just didn’t look like a team that was playing to win.
Williamson was retained as leader for the 2022 season but failed to inspire either as captain or batter as SRH once again failed to qualify for the playoffs. It was almost as if Hyderabad were carrying the burden of failure into the competition, with the sword of the Warner sacking controversy still hanging over the franchise.
Hyderabad went for a change of guard in 2023, with Markram replacing Williamson as captain. However, things only went from bad to worse for the franchise. So, the first and foremost task for Cummins as SRH captain will be to instill confidence in the team, something that has been clearly lacking in recent years.
#2 Cummins needs to lead the way as SRH captain
Having been named the captain after being purchased for a massive sum of ₹20.50 crore, Cummins will have to prove his worth as a player. There's no doubting his talent and commitment, but it’s a fact that the Australian cricketer hasn’t lived up to his reputation in the IPL over the years.
In the T20 league, the pacer has claimed 45 wickets in 42 games at an average of 30.16 and an economy rate of 8.54, with just one four-wicket haul. Last season, he claimed seven wickets in five games for KKR, and nine scalps in seven games the year before.
Cummins needs to show significant improvement in his performance with the ball in the IPL, more so because of the kind of responsibility he has been given by SRH.
He has also contributed three half-centuries, which includes a 14-ball fifty. Hyderabad will be expecting a lot more with the bat as well from Cummins the captain. How he delivers on an individual level could have a massive impact on the team’s fortunes.
#3 Figure out a combination to maximize players’ skills
One of the reasons why SRH have struggled over the last three seasons has been due to a lot of uncertainty about their combination. Players have been shunted up and down the order, while bowlers have constantly been in and out of the playing XI too.
The likes of Abdul Samad and Abhishek Sharma have been with the franchise for a few seasons, but one gets the feeling that there's plenty of potential yet to be tapped when it comes to the duo.
Umran Malik, SRH’s X-factor in the 2022 edition, was constantly in and out of the playing XI last year, and there was way too much confusion in the manner in which he was handled.
These are just a few cases of mismanagement by SRH in the IPL over the last couple of years. The list is much bigger. As captain, Cummins will be expected to come in with a clear mindset and back the players he feels can do the job for the team.