What you need to know about Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad's new captain

As captain, Pat Cummins’ challenges are. Not only will there be criticism awaiting him at every failure, but he will also be expected to turn things around for a side that finished last in two of the last three editions. (Image source: X/@AunRisers)

Pat Cummins IPL playing record: 42 matches, 379 runs, strike rate 152 | 45 wickets, economy 8.54

Pat Cummins IPL captaincy record: Never led, not only in the IPL but in any T20 match

Since the 2023 IPL, Pat Cummins has led Australia to the World Test Championship and World Cup titles. He has also retained the Ashes in England, swept Pakistan 3-0 at home, and New Zealand 2-0 at their den. As captain, he stands supreme, the finest in the world over this period.

Yet, none of this has been in T20 cricket. That is a format Cummins has largely stayed away from. He has never led in T20 cricket – IPL or otherwise. He did not play a single T20 match in 2023. In 2024, he has played only twice in the format. He is already one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of Test cricket, but his IPL credentials do not match that – though he once held the record for the fastest IPL 50.

Aiden Markram had led Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2023. On either side of that, he led the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to SA20 titles in both 2022 and 2023, the only two editions of the league till date. There was little doubt over his role for the Sunrisers franchise. Yet, just before the 2024 IPL, Hyderabad replaced Markram as captain with Cummins.

It raised a few eyebrows, and one can see why. Following an excellent auction, the Hyderabad squad now boasts of Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Marco Jansen, not to speak of Travis Head and Fazalhaq Farooqi. The first four would have been automatic choices, but Cummins’ appointment will mean that only three can play at the same time.

As captain, Cummins’ challenges are, thus, enormous. Not only will there be criticism awaiting him at every failure, but he will also be expected to turn things around for a side that finished last in two of the last three editions.

SRH probable XI: Mayank Agarwal, Travis Head, Rahul Tripathi, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Pat Cummins (c), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Umran Malik, T. Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar