Under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ended the league stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 in the second position with eight wins in 14 games at a net run rate (NRR) of +0.414. The Australia captain earned a huge cheque of INR 20.5 crore during the auction of the IPL.
Pat Cummins has managed the players so beautifully on the field. Some of his field placements were quite brilliant, whereas the calm nature he has brought to the group, besides taking care of the bowling line-up deserves so much praise.
‘Pat Cummins is genuine and is saying what’s he thinking’- Aakash Chopra
The former India opener Aakash Chopra has selected Pat Cummins as the best captain of all the ten leaders in this IPL 2024. He felt that the all-rounder, who led Australia to the ODI World Cup just six months ago in India, had proved him wrong with some fabulous captaincy skills in this cash-rich league.
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On Sunday, Sunrisers Hyderabad got the better of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by four wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. With the victory they secured the second spot in the points table. With the washout result in the evening contest of the day between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Guwahati, the SRH earned the tickets for the first qualifier.
‘It is difficult for me to go beyond Pat Cummins. I put my hand up and say that I wasn’t convinced. I am saying he is the best captain because the bowling resources weren’t that good.’ Aakash Chopra expressed in his YouTube channel. ‘This team has conceded runs. However, the way he has marshaled his resources and the calmness with which he has spoken.’
‘There are a few examples. He reached the Chinnaswamy ground and he was asked how many runs. He said 300 and SRH made 287 that night.’ The former India opener remarked in the same video. ‘So, they came so close. Then in yesterday’s post-match presentation, Harsha (Bhogle) told him (Pat Cummins) about the rain in Guwahati. He said – ‘That’s too bad’. He is genuine and is saying what he is thinking.’
Pat Cummins now has picked up 15 wickets in this edition of the IPL in 13 innings at an economy of 9.23, especially bowling in the powerplay and the death overs.
‘The biggest difference is the philosophy.’- Aakash Chopra
The retired batter also feels that a change of mindset of playing the high-risk game has worked for the Sunrisers Hyderabad this season. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have shown their aggressive batting as the former has managed 533 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 201.13, while Abhishek Sharma has clubbed 467 runs at 209.41.
‘The biggest difference is the philosophy. It’s easy to say that you can go and continuously hit but it doesn’t happen because there is the danger of getting out in that.’ Aakash Chopra responded. ‘It’s a high-risk game. You always need a lot of investment of faith from the team management when you play a high-risk game.’
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‘The batting philosophy this team has made this time says you shouldn’t turn back and see and that there is just aggression on our minds.’ Chopra added. ‘They might get stuck someday, get bowled out for 125, but they go with the thought of brushing that aside whenever that happens.’
Sunrisers Hyderabad will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the first qualifier on May 21, 2024, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.