Former India cricketer decodes why SRH spend huge amount for Pat Cummins in IPL auction 2024

The Indian Premier League(IPL) 2024 auction has put their big money on Australians. One of the biggest and most expensive buys in the auction is none other than Australia captain and World Cup winner Pat Cummins as he goes at a price of 20.5 cr to the Sunrisers Hyderabad(SRH). This not only makes him one of the most expensive players in IPL but also the first player to hit the 20 crore mark. There is no question about the class and talent that Cummins possesses and with him still being as consistent with his pace bowling even while leading the Australia team in international cricket. With this price tag, there is no doubt that SRH will have a lot of faith in him going into the tournament.

There will obviously be some criticism the franchise and Cummins will face from some experts who also give their reasons on why they have spent a fortune on him and what is their plan regarding him. There is also the talk that SRH already has a lot of overseas players on their side who have also performed well. With the restriction of only four foreigners and Cummins being an expensive purchase there is no way they will try to bench him. Even ex-cricketer Aakash Chopra has given his view on the reason why Cummins was bought for such a high price.

Aakash Chopra’s views

Aakash Chopra openly gave his views on SRH buying Cummins on his YouTube channel saying “The Pat Cummins bid for 20.50 crore rupees - they have neither bought a bowler nor a batter, but a captain. In my opinion, Hyderabad needed a captain. The team was good earlier, it is good now as well. It is a team worthy of qualifying and was earlier as well." to support his views he further stated that if Cummins hadn’t shown exuberance as a leader then he wouldn’t have gone for such a high price.

Chopra also supported this stadium bringing up Cummins IPL stats as well stating “Vettori has come. He has an Australian connection with Pat Cummins. So they have suddenly got him in the form of a captain, or else 20.50 crore rupees makes no sense, not for somebody whose IPL record is extremely ordinary. Class player but T20 numbers are 50-50." There is some truth to that statement since Cummins' stats in IPL where he has taken 45 wickets in 42 matches at a high economy of 8.54 does not live up to his international performances.

Whether Cummins will be one of the biggest performers in the IPL or not is too early to tell, but if the Hyderabad franchise has shown a lot of trust in him going into the auction that explains the big price tag. His stats in the IPL and T20s might not be the best, but there is no question about the experience and quality he brings to any side and it will be a big challenge for him.