Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels Pat Cummins’ captaincy has played a key role in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s success. Cummins was able to lead from the front in the previous season and took the Orange Army to the final of the tournament but they could not cross the last hurdle against Kolkata Knight Riders.
The Australian fast bowler was roped in by SRH for a whopping amount of INR 20.50 crore in the IPL 2024 mini-auction and he was retained for INR 18 crore ahead of the mega auction last year.
Cummins scalped 18 wickets in 16 matches of IPL 2024 at an average of 31.44. Chopra said Pat Cummins’ captaincy has been the team’s strength.
“Pat Cummins, the captain. I will put my hand up and say that I had a slight doubt how he would perform because his numbers weren’t very good earlier, and how would a captain manage a team if his numbers are not good. He showed that by doing it last year, scored runs and bowled very well whenever it was required. He has led the team beautifully. He remains absolutely calm,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator hailed SRH’s potent batting line-up as their other strength.
“They have two dangerous openers in Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, and since they felt they need to hit more, they have added Ishan Kishan to them. After that, Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy. It’s maybe the most explosive batting order in the entire IPL,” he observed.
“Mumbai have the ability to hit like that, but these guys are dangerous. They have three left-handers and then two right-handers. So considering the batting till No. 5, they are a batting powerhouse,” the cricketer-turned-analyst added.
Chopra feels SRH has added more strength to their bowling line-up after roping in players like Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Wiaan Mulder, Adam Zampa, and Mayank Markande.
“After that, another strength which they have assembled now. It used to be a weakness earlier. You were searching for bowlers who would bowl with T Natarajan. Bhuvneshwar Kumar used to be there, but not the same thing. They didn’t have any spinners, didn’t have confidence in Mayank Markande. Then they were always struggling,” he said.
“Now then they have got Shami and Harshal. Pat Cummins was already there. I understand they don’t have Marco Jansen but they have an option in Wiaan Mulder. After that, they have two leg spinners, Rahul Chahar and Adam Zampa, and both might play. Now it looks like a solid team,” Chopra added.
SRH will begin their IPL 2025 campaign against Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on 23rd March.
