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Australian captain Pat Cummins is likely to be given leadership duties for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of IPL 2024, according to Cricbuzz.
Cummins' proximity to the team's head coach Daniel Vettori and his recent achievements, including the 2023 World Cup triumph are said to have impressed the management enough to consider a captaincy change.
South Africa's Aiden Markram led the Orange Army last year but the team finished at the bottom of the table despite having a squad rife with stars. However, Markram proved his captaincy credentials in the SA20 by leading SRH's sister franchise, SunRisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.
SRH strengthened their team further in the IPL 2024 auction by signing Cummins (₹20.50 crore), Travis Head (₹6.80 crore), and Wanindu Hasaranga (₹1.5 crore), among others. The former was the second-most expensive signing in the tournament's history.
Earlier in the month, former India captain-turned-broadcaster, Sunil Gavaskar had also said that he believed the Australian would be named captain.
"I think Pat Cummins was a smart buy, maybe a little over-expensive. Smart buy because he will bring the leadership aspect to their team, which was lacking the last time around. Last time around, some of the bowling changes that we saw in crucial games were just head-scratching, and that cost them matches. So now with Pat Cummins coming in, I am pretty certain that he will be the captain of the team and that will make a huge difference," Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
The bowling all-rounder would have a tough job picking the four overseas players for the team which already had Marco Jansen, Glenn Phillips, and Heinrich Klaasen before the auction.
SRH to find new bowling coach to support Pat Cummins and company
Meanwhile, according to the aforementioned report, SRH's bowling coach Dale Steyn has opted for a break and won't be a part of the tournament this year. The franchise's search for a replacement is on.
Hyderabad will begin their IPL 2024 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 23 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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