Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins was seen enjoying highlights of MS Dhoni's explosive batting during the press conference ahead of the IPL 2024 final against Kolkata Knight Riders. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Cummins was seen looking at Dhoni batting on the TV during the press conference that was attended by several journalists. Cummins will be looking to join an elite list of captains who have won the IPL title with Dhoni topping the list with 5. The Australian cricket team star, who was picked for a massive Rs 20.5 crore by SRH, has led the team by example till now.
As a leader, Pat Cummins has tasted success at the highest level and stands on the cusp of adding another feather in his decorated cap by winning the IPL title but the Australian skipper knows that all good things come to an end.
The Australian has been on a great run since last year, leading Australia to the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup success.
He will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024 final against former champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday and strive to win team's second title. "It would be great (winning the title) but the run's going to stop at some point," he told reporters ahead of the IPL final.
"It's been a great couple of years, but I haven't captained any T20 cricket team before this series. So, I'm not too sure what to expect. It's quite fast-paced."
Analysing his side's performance in the tournament this season, Cummins credited the blend of experience and youngsters for success.
"It's been huge. We have quite an experienced bowling line-up, including (Jaydev) Unadkat and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar). Also, so many youngsters have come through and have won us games by themselves, like Nitish (Reddy) and Abhishek (Sharma).
"We also have guys who have been away from the Indian setup, but they have been fantastic. So, that's been the story of our team," he said.
SRH, which finished in second place on the points table, had lost to KKR in Qualifier 1.
Following the Orange Army's win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2, assistant coach Simon Helmot admitted that Cummins took help of stats before heading into every game.
When asked about the same, the Aussie admitted that despite having the stats, one needs to back his intuition on that given day.
"All the data analytics are tools to be used. It's just another factor in the decision-making process," he reckoned. "We play a lot of T20 games, but the two games are not exactly the same. It's different wickets and opposition, and data could take you only so far.
"So, I think you still need to back your gut feeling and intuition. Data doesn't tell you that it's probably going to be successful.
"We have lots of experience around our squad, like Daniel Vettori. So, you need to balance between the objective data that you gather and what you are feeling out there."
(With PTI inputs)