IPL 2024: Irfan Pathan Raises Doubts Over Pat Cummins’ T20 Leadership at SRH

March 4, 2024 0 439

Irfan Pathan criticized Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to appoint Pat Cummins as captain for IPL 2024, questioning his suitability for T20 leadership despite recent success with Australia.

Sunrisers Hyderabad shook things up before IPL 2024 by appointing Australian captain Pat Cummins as their new skipper, replacing Aiden Markram. Cummins, secured for a hefty sum of INR 20.5 crore, became SRH’s second-most expensive player ever after Mitchell Starc.

However, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan expressed skepticism over the decision, citing Cummins’ lack of T20 leadership experience and underwhelming IPL performance. When speaking on Star Sports, Pathan questioned SRH’s rationale, wondering if backing Markram, who had been given the captaincy for only one year, would have been wiser.

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“When you talk about leadership, you wouldn’t want to think beyond Cummins ideally. Australia just won the World Cup under him, he’s performed really well in the last one and a half years. But the problem is that Cummins will look nice overall. However, when it comes to T20 leadership, there’s nothing. His performance isn’t the greatest in T20 cricket and his IPL numbers aren’t decent either,” Pathan said.

“So there will be a challenge. What is SRH thinking? They’ve made a big move here. If Pat Cummins leadership is made captain, what about Markram? You gave him captaincy just for one year, so wouldn’t you want to back him? That is a big question,” he added.

SRH, finishing last in the 2023 edition with just 4 wins from 14 matches, strengthened their squad with signings like Travis Head (INR 6.8 crore) and Wanindu Hasaranga (INR 1.5 crore). Their IPL 2024 journey kicks off against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 23 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.