Sunrisers Hyderabad made Pat Cummins the captain in the new season of IPL. He replaces Aiden Markram at the helm through the 2023 season.
Cummins has never led in the IPL before, not even in top-level T20 cricket. However, the Australian captain caught the attention of Australia by winning the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup last year.
Cummins withdrew from IPL 2023 to focus on international cricket. His demand was so high in this year’s auction that Hyderabad bought him for 20.5 million rupees. Although he was overtaken as the most expensive player by his Australia team-mate Mitchell Starc within a few hours, bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 24.75 crore.
Current Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori worked closely with Cummins in the national team. This is considered to be one of the reasons for his leadership. Moreover, Markram, who has led the team for the past two seasons, has disappointed. However, the South African batsman has led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to two consecutive SA Twenty20 titles.
Cummins is Hyderabad’s third captain in three seasons. In 2022, under the leadership of Kane Williamson, the team finished eighth in the tournament. And under Markram’s captaincy last year, they were the last team to win just four of 14 matches.
Hyderabad will start the IPL against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 23.
#Cummins #captain #Hyderabad
