Pat Cummins: Leading Sunrisers Hyderabad’s T20 Revolution
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Pat Cummins had never led a team in top-flight T20 cricket. In fact, he hadn’t played a T20 International for over 15 months until February and had also skipped the IPL the previous year. Given the format’s ever-changing demands, the 30-year-old had surprisingly little game time.
Despite his perceived inexperience, Sunrisers Hyderabad made a bold move by bidding a whopping ₹20.5 crore for Cummins’ services and appointing him as captain. It was a gamble, especially for a team that hadn’t progressed beyond the league stage in the previous three seasons. However, with half of their league games in IPL 2024 completed, it’s safe to say that the gamble on Cummins has paid off handsomely.
The Sunrisers, with 10 points, will play five of their last seven league games at home and are strong contenders to make the playoffs. Cummins’ qualities as a skipper and player have been undeniable throughout, despite all the talk surrounding his relative inexperience in T20 cricket. He led Australia to the World Test Championship title in June 2023 and followed it up with a sensational triumph over India in the ODI World Cup final five months later. His tactical masterclass and daring leadership in that game will likely remain one of the tournament’s most enduring memories.
In IPL 2024, we have witnessed Cummins’ SRH revolutionize T20 batting with an all-out attacking approach. They have broken the record for the highest team total in the IPL twice, with an astonishing three scores of 260 or more. Cummins has been a key driving force behind this transformation.
“Everyone’s terrified when they come up against us, and we’re going to blow some teams out of the water before they have even walked out onto the field,” he told his teammates after they smashed 287 runs while defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
“We’ve seen the freedom that SRH is playing with,” said former Australia captain Aaron Finch on Star Sports. “Pat and coach Dan Vettori have a great relationship as well. They don’t get emotional about the result of a game.” Whether it’s a World Cup, the Big Bash, or any other T20 competition, you sit down and map out how you think you’re going to win it. And you have to be prepared to stay the course because it’s so volatile. From Australia’s point of view and SRH’s too, Pat has been a wonderful leader. Just the calmness that he brings to a group. Also, being a bowler, he can sympathize with a bowler when it’s not going well. He knows what to say at the right time.”
Cummins has also been a cut above the rest with the ball, taking nine wickets in seven games. However, it’s his economy rate of 8.00 that has significantly contributed to his team’s success. Among pacers who have played five or more games this season, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, and Matheesha Pathirana have been more economical. However, SRH’s games have featured higher scores. Their belligerence with the bat has forced oppositions to come hard at them, resulting in jaw-dropping run fests. Through it all, even as most of SRH’s bowlers have gone at over 10 an over, Cummins has been the one to consistently pull things back.
The fast bowler has conceded more than nine runs an over in only one game (3/43 against RCB, which also ended in victory).
The Impact Player rule has arguably been the most talked-about aspect of this season. Under Cummins’ leadership, SRH has emerged as trailblazers in how they have used it to dominate with the bat. The flip side of this rule is a lack of respite for the bowlers, but in that sense too, the Aussie star has shown his class by adapting to different situations.
As we move towards the business end of the IPL, Cummins, who is going through the most glittering phase of his career, will undoubtedly believe he can take another of his teams all the way.
