Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed his disapproval of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s choice to appoint Australian ODI and Test captain, Pat Cummins, as their new captain for the upcoming IPL 2024 season. Chopra contends that Cummins lacks promising T20 statistics of late, unlike the performances exhibited by the team’s former captain, Aiden Markram.
Pat Cummins! pic.twitter.com/DPr2LMWECb
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Sunrisers Hyderabad’s much-anticipated decision, announced on March 4, has Cummins, their highest-priced acquisition in the 2024 auction, leading the team for the upcoming season. This announcement further adds to Cummins’s already impressive 2023 cricketing journey, a year that saw him receive the prestigious ICC Player of the Year award.
Chopra stated that Cummins has leaked a substantial number of runs in the IPL, and his batting returns have been underwhelming as well.
Corroborating Chopra’s assertions, Cummins has had a limited impact in his IPL career thus far. The all-rounder, who withdrew from IPL 2023 due to a heavy international workload, played just 12 matches in the 2022 and 2021 editions of the tournament.
In those years, the Australian captain could only muster 56 and 66 runs with the bat, and 7 and 9 wickets with the ball, respectively.
In T20I cricket, Cummins has only appeared twice for the national team since the 2022 T20 World Cup, both in Australia’s recent series against New Zealand.
Chopra argues that Cummins’ recent statistics do not position him as a reliable bowling or batting choice for SRH, which raises questions about the team’s decision to appoint him captain.
Also Read: Good News For Indian Fans! T20 World Cup 2024 To Be Streamed For Free On OTT
