by Pat ,IPL Captaincy and Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan pointed out several flaws with Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to announce Pat Cummins as their captain for IPL 2024.
While Irfan Pathan acknowledges Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to appoint Pat Cummins as their IPL 2024 captain, he raises valid concerns regarding the potential ramifications of this move. Cummins assumes leadership from Aiden Markram, who endured a lackluster season, culminating in SRH’s disappointing finish at the bottom of the table. However, Markram’s success with SRH’s sister team, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, cannot be overlooked. Leading them to consecutive SA20 titles in 2023 and 2024 underscores his leadership capabilities. Pathan’s perspective sheds light on the importance of considering a captain’s track record beyond the IPL arena.
Furthermore, despite Cummins’ notable leadership achievements such as retaining the Ashes against England and guiding Australia to victories in the World Test Championship and the 2023 World Cup, his lack of experience in T20 cricket raises doubts about his suitability for the role, according to Pathan’s analysis.
“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 on Star Sports.
“So there will be a challenge. What is SRH thinking? They’ve made a big move here. If Cummins 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.”
Cummins’ appointment as captain could potentially disrupt the team combination for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Following their purchase of six players at the IPL 2024 auction in December, the team now boasts a total of eight overseas players. Among them are notable names like Markram, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Marco Jansen, and Heinrich Klaasen, all of whom are well-suited to the T20 format. However, with only four slots available in the Playing XI and Cummins occupying one as captain, Pathan raises concerns about the selection dilemma and the challenge of maintaining a balanced team composition.
