Sunrisers Hyderabad hired Pat Cummins for INR 20.5 Cr at IPL 2024 Auctions. This was despite the team already having two good overseas pacers. While Pat Cummins is a brilliant cricketer, his arrival could bring quite a few issues to the squad. Here, we take a look at the list of three reasons why SRH signing Australian skipper Pat Cummins was a bad move.
1) SRH is now forced to drop Marco Jansen
SRH can afford only one foreign bowler in the team. They need to play Heinrich Klaasen and Travis Head. Aiden Markram, if he is the skipper, must also play.
Pat Cummins, due to the price factor, must play too. Marco Jansen was a superb new-ball partner for Bhuvi. Now, he has to be dropped. Jaydev Unadkat or Akash Singh will share the new ball with Bhuvi.
2) Captaincy conundrum
The captaincy conundrum is one of the reasons why SRH signing Australian skipper Pat Cummins was a bad move. Aiden Markram did not have a great outing as a skipper last season. Nevertheless, he deserved one more opportunity, especially after the change in management.
Now, with Pat Cummins in the team, SRH could think about him as the captain. Even if he is not appointed as the captain, Markram would be under pressure because he could be replaced anytime during the tournament. This could have an impact on the team.
3) Role clarity for Umran Malik would reduce
In the last seasons, it was clear that SRH used Umran Malik as an enforcer. He bowled most of his overs in the middle overs. Now, Pat Cummins would also do that mainly because it is his strength during this phase of the game. Also, with two bouncers per over, Cummins would enjoy his role.
Now, Umran might have to be used at the death. He could also bowl in the powerplay. The role clarity will be missing for the J&K pacer.
