"India is like a second home" - Pat Cummins on Indian fans ahead of IPL 2024
Australian skipper Pat Cummins called India a second home ahead of his stint with the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 2024 IPL season.
The 30-year-old became the second most expensive cricketer in IPL history when SRH acquired his services for a whopping ₹20.50 crore. Recent reports suggest that the franchise will likely make Cummins the captain for the upcoming season.
Speaking to Star Sports, Cummins called the feeling 'great' when the entire Indian crowd isn't rooting against you.
"India is like a second home. We spend so much time here. IPL you've got your home teams. So you actually feel like you've got plenty of fans Or, you know, at least cricket fans that have, you know, supported you or, you know, lots of people come up to me and say, Oh, I'm from Kolkata or I go for KKR. So it's nice feeling like not everyone's against you," said Cummins.
SRH will be desperate to turn things around after a dismal last season when they finished at the bottom of the points table with four wins in 14 games.
Meanwhile, Cummins has enjoyed two stints with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014-15 and 2020-22 and a lone season with the Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2017.
"It's always good coming up against Virat" - Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins cherished his on-field rivalry with Indian superstar Virat Kohli and felt the duo had the better of each other on different occasions.
While the Aussie pacer has never dismissed the champion batter in IPL and other T20s, he has enjoyed success in international cricket. Cummins has bagged Kohli's wicket five times in Tests, twice in ODIs and once in T20Is.
"I'm just a big believer in concentrating on what I do. Those guys are are that good, if you're just a little bit off, they'll find a way to kind of put you off your game. So, um yeah, it's always good coming up against Virat. He's got me a few times. I've got him a few times. It's always pretty good," said Cummins.
Indian fans will want to forget the last time the duo battled each other when Cummins removed Kohli at a crucial stage of Australia's win over India in the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
The Aussie skipper has featured in 42 IPL games throughout his career, picking up 45 wickets at an average of over 30 and an economy rate of 8.54.