"If Cummins wins IPL as captain, consider him god"- Fans react to Pat Cummins' appointment as SRH skipper for IPL 2024

Australian Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins' purple patch continues to grow as he was appointed the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain for IPL 2024 on Monday, March 4.

After being acquired at the second-most expensive price in IPL history for ₹20.5 crore during last year's auction, the 30-year-old will try to lead SRH out of the doldrums from the past three seasons. From winning the title in 2016 to making the playoffs five straight seasons from 2016 to 2020, SRH finished at the bottom of the table in two of the previous three editions.

Led by South African Aiden Markram last season, the franchise won only four out of their 14 outings to finish bottom-placed in the 10-team tournament.

Meanwhile, Cummins has blossomed as the Australian captain, leading the side to the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup titles last year.

Despite no leadership experience of note at the T20 level in international or domestic cricket, the ace pacer will take over SRH's reins in hopes of resurrecting the side. The move also means SRH will now field their third different captain in the last three years, after Kane Williamson and Markram's unsuccessful runs in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Although Markram struggled as SRH skipper last season, he has captained their sister franchise, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, in the SA20 to titles in the league's first two editions.

Fans on Twitter expectedly had mixed reactions to Cummins' appointment as SRH skipper.

Here are a few of the best ones:

Pat Cummins has a mediocre IPL record

While there is no questioning Pat Cummins' remarkable feats in international cricket, the story has been starkly opposite in the IPL. The 30-year-old was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014 and 2015 but played only four matches combined, claiming two wickets.

The champion bowler moved to the Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2017 but played only the solitary season and picked up 15 wickets from 12 outings. Following the Delhi stint, Cummins returned to KKR for three years, from 2020 to 2022.

Despite a few memorable moments with the ball and bat, the Aussie skipper grabbed only 28 wickets in 26 matches at an expensive economy rate of over 8.50. His latest IPL season in 2022 was particularly dismal, with seven wickets in five games at a horrific economy rate of 10.69.

Cummins has played 42 IPL games overall and has 45 wickets to his name at an average of over 30 and an economy rate of 8.54.