Pat Cummins appointed as SRH captain for IPL 2024
SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) historic acquisition at the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction, Pat Cummins, has been appointed as the franchise skipper for the upcoming season. The Australian replaces Aiden Markram as the team's captain, a decision which was officially announced by the franchise on Monday, March 4, through their social media outlets.
Cummins has showcased his leadership ability in the recent past with the national team, having led them to the elusive double of the World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup.
The right-arm pacer, who withdrew from the proceedings in the 2023 season, entered his name for the 2024 edition and sought an ₹20.5 crore bid from the Orange Army.
He was briefly the most expensive player to be acquired at the auction table, breaching the ₹18.5 crore bid for Sam Curran by the Punjab Kings (PBKS). However, Cummins' record was short-lived as his national teammate, Mitchell Starc, managed to attract a bid worth ₹24.75 crore from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Although Cummins has been leading Australia over the last couple of years, it has not been in the shortest format of the game. Since Finch's retirement, it has been Mitchell Marsh who has been captaining the side, and the Men in Yellow are unlikely to change their direction with only months remaining for the T20 World Cup.
The captaincy change in the SRH camp stems from the fact that they have finished at the bottom of the table twice across the last three seasons. Once known as one of the most consistent teams in the competition, the 2016 IPL champions last qualified for the playoffs in 2020.
Although Aiden Markram has led SRH's sister franchise, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to glory twice in two years in the SA20, he has been unable to translate the same success into the IPL.
SRH have already made significant changes to their coaching setup as well, with the introduction of Daniel Vettori and James Franklin as head coach and bowling coach in place of Brian Lara and Dale Steyn, respectively.
"India is like a second home" - Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins is no stranger to India as well as the IPL. The pacer has represented the Mumbai Indians, the Delhi Daredevils (now renamed as Delhi Capitals), and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the past.
He will be keen to use the IPL as an avenue to gear up for the T20 World Cup in June 2024.
"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," Cummins said on Star Sports recently.
Will SRH qualify for the playoffs with their revamped setup under their new skipper? Let us know what you think.