3 reasons why SRH should not appoint Pat Cummins as captain for IPL 2024
Australian captain Pat Cummins entered the IPL record books when he became the most expensive signing at the auction, which was recently held in Dubai. He fetched a whopping sum of Rs 20.50 crore.
The deal, which seemed to be the biggest ever in IPL history, was broken by his teammate and an integral member of the pace bowling cartel, Mitchell Starc, who was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for an outrageous amount of Rs 24.75 crore.
Cummins will ply his trade for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, fondly known as the Orange among their fans. Cummins expressed his excitement at donning the orange in the upcoming edition of the IPL. While Cummins has been a proven customer at the international level, he hasn't quite replicated his consistency in the IPL.
Under his captaincy, Australia won the World Cup very recently, so that will keep Cummins in good stead. He marshaled his troops admirably all through the tournament, and his tactics in the final against an undefeated Indian side were absolutely spot on. He had his plans chalked out for different players and trusted his bowlers, which eventually reaped rich dividends.
There will be a temptation among the SRH team management to hand over the captaincy to Cummins, especially after his World Cup heroics. However, this move might also backfire due to Cummins' inconsistency at the IPL level.
Having said that, let us decipher three possible reasons why SRH should not appoint Pat Cummins as their captain:
#1 Cummins will permanently eat up a spot in the playing XI if he is made the captain
While there is no denying the fact that Cummins is a world-class operator with the ball and has emerged as an impactful captain in the Australian colors, it might not be the best of moves to make him the SRH skipper.
If he is made the captain, Cummins has to be given a long rope, and effectively, he will eat one spot up when there could be scope for permutations and combinations depending on the conditions.
Cummins hasn't been a regular starter in the T20 format, and the move could backfire big time for the 2016 champions. With a variety of foreign players in the SRH rank, they should bust the idea of making Cummins the skipper and stick with someone like Aiden Markram.
#2 An inconsistent performer at the IPL level
While Pat Cummins enrolled his name in the IPL auctions and was bought for a hefty sum, time and again we have seen top picks from the auction withdraw their names even before the competition starts.
Cummins, who has been among the hot picks in the IPL auction for quite a few years, hasn't been able to perform consistently and was very expensive in 2022, the last time he was part of the IPL.
Even in his entire IPL career, Cummins' number doesn't go for a pretty reading. He has picked up 45 wickets in 42 matches at an average of 30.16 and an economy rate of 8.54. Playing for KKR, he scored the fastest IPL half-century against the Mumbai Indians but has lacked the wicket-taking mojo that will be his primary role.
#3 There should be continuity in the captaincy department
Aiden Markram was appointed as the SRH skipper ahead of the 2023 edition, and the management must give him another season to realize his potential as a captain.
The Sunrisers endured a horrendous campaign, winning just four out of their fourteen group games, and their performance left a lot to be desired.
However, Markram has proven himself as a middle-order batter and has been a consistent run scorer for SRH. He also led South Africa in the recently concluded T20I series and looked impressive with his tactics.
If Cummins is made the captain, it will hinder the probability of playing an extra batter or a spinner, depending on the conditions.