“Pat Cummins neither scores runs, nor picks up wickets..”- Aakash Chopra’s sensation allegations on the new SRH captain

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to appoint Pat Cummins as their captain for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) has not impressed Aakash Chopra. The Hyderabad-based outfit, on Monday (March 4), confirmed that the Australia star would be leading the team in the forthcoming season.

Pat Cummins replaced Aiden Markram as the captain of the team after SRH’s disastrous campaign in IPL 2023. The 2016 IPL winners struggled throughout the last season and finished at the bottom of the points table after managing to win only 4 of their 14 league games.

The onus will now be on Pat Cummins to transform the team’s fortunes. While time will tell how the Australia captain performs as the SRH captain, his appointment has not impressed Aakash Chopra. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, the former India opener began by stating that the Australian has not done well in the IPL in recent times.

Aakash Chopra questions Pat Cummins’ appointment:

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Pat Cummins neither bowls in the powerplay nor the death overs and does not contribute consistently with the bat either.

With only four overseas players allowed in the playing eleven, the former cricketer-turned-commentator said that Cummins did not even have a guaranteed place in the playing eleven in the past IPL seasons. He also cited it as a reason behind the pacer not being the Australia T20 captain despite leading the side in the other two formats.

“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,” said Aakash Chopra.

“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,” he added.

Meanwhile, IPL 2024 is scheduled to be played from March 22. Reigning champions Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on each other in the tournament opener. Sunrisers Hyderabad will open their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 23.