"Can't just leave your values at the door" - Pat Cummins on being referred to as 'woke' captain
Australian captain Pat Cummins has retaliated to being referred to as 'woke' by saying that one cannot leave their values behind after reaching unparalleled heights. The 30-year-old stated that travelling overseas and playing cricket in a lot of countries has exposed him to a lot of social issues.
The Aussie captain has come under criticism on numerous occasions and has been termed as 'Captain woke' and 'climate catastrophic clown' for his progressive opinions regarding Black Lives Matter Movement, climate change, and supporting the cause of indigenous and aboriginal people.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Cummins felt that, as a citizen of Australia, there are areas one can look to improve. He said:
"There’s some things that you don’t want to budge on. You can’t just leave your values at the door. I love this country. So I think there’s areas that we should celebrate and there’s areas that we can always improve, just like anywhere else in the world. But yeah, I’d say from my parents and family. You know, mum and dad have always been very clearly focused on what’s important and that’s always been instilled in us kids. I think also playing cricket, and travelling the world for 12 years, opens your eyes. You meet hundreds, thousands of people along the way, and that always helps shape who you are and how you think."
The New South Wales cricketer has achieved enormous success as captain this year, starting with winning the World Test Championship final in June and retaining the Ashes in England. Cummins also became a World Cup-winning skipper by winning the 2023 edition.
"It felt like I was walking straight into it" - Pat Cummins on captaincy
With the captaincy tenures of Steve Smith and Tim Paine ending in an unwanted way, Cummins acknowledged feeling jittery but felt a sense of responsibility at the same time. He said:
"Yeah, I was, for sure. Especially to see two really good mates having their tenures end the way they did. It felt like I was walking straight into it, a little bit. I love putting everything into bowling and I wasn’t sure how the added dimension of captaincy, which I hadn’t really done before, was going to affect it. But since I was a kid, learning all about the history of cricket, you know the Australian captaincy is a big thing, so I felt a real sense of responsibility."
The right-arm pacer will next be seen on the field during the Test series against Pakistan, starting on December 14th.