Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has questioned Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to appoint Pat Cummins as their new skipper for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Cummins, who was bought for a whopping INR 20.50 crores in the IPL 2024 auction, replaced Aiden Markram as Orange Army’s captain.
Chopra highlighted that Cummins neither bowls in the powerplay overs nor at the death. Meanwhile, Cummins led Australia to glory in the ICC Test Championship. Furthermore, Australia won the ICC World Cup 2023 under Cummins’ leadership.
On the other hand, Aiden Markram led the sister franchise, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, to back-to-back titles in SA20 but he has been sacked as a leader.
“You have made Pat Cummins the captain but have you seen his recent IPL numbers? Check attentively, he concedes a lot of runs and doesn’t score that many runs with the bat. Only four overseas players play. He neither bowls in the powerplay nor at the death,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator added that Cummins doesn’t guarantee his place in the final XI and doesn’t even lead Australia in the shortest format.
“If he is not going to do all those jobs, you are spending 25% of your overseas resources on a player whose place in the XI was not 100% guaranteed in the IPL. That is why Pat Cummins is not the captain of the team where 11 Australians play, although he has won the World Cup, but not T20,” Chopra stated.
Meanwhile, SRH finished the previous season as cellar-dwellers under Markram’s captaincy. Chopra feels there was too much confusion in the last season for Orange Army.
“There is a player named Aiden Markram who benefitted the SunRisers franchise a lot. He made the SunRisers Eastern Cape the champions for two successive years in the SA20 league. However, he has been removed from the captaincy here. He captained one year in total where I felt there was a lot of confusion,” he said.
“He didn’t know what was happening. He was asked at times where Umran Malik was and he replied he wasn’t aware and that the person who made the team should be asked about it. That is where he was but he has been sidelined now,” Chopra explained.
Sunrisers Hyderabad will begin their IPL 2024 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on March 23.
