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Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra was surprised by the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) shelling out ₹20.50 crore for Aussie skipper Pat Cummins in the ongoing IPL 2024 Auction.
The Orange Army had to overcome stiff competition from the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to acquire the services of Cummins. It was SRH's third buy of the day following the acquisition of fellow Aussie Travis Head and Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga for ₹6.8 crore and ₹1.50 crore, respectively.
Taking to Twitter, Chopra compared Cummins' price to those of Indian stalwarts like Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma to express his surprise.
"Can’t help but think that Bumrah is for 12Cr. Kohli 17Cr. Rohit 16Cr. And Pat Cummins is sold…for 20.5 Cr.," Chopra tweeted.
Pat Cummins was the highest-sold player in the 2020 auction at ₹15.50. He was on track to achieve a similar feat until his teammate Mitchell Starc went to KKR for an all-time IPL record ₹24.75 crore.
The 30-year-old last played in the IPL for KKR during the 2022 season and left midway due to a hip injury. Cummins played only five games and picked up only seven wickets while conceding runs at over 10.69 per over.
However, his leadership skills and the ability to add valuable lower-order runs, both on full display during the recent ODI World Cup, led to his sky-high purchase price.
"Pumped to be joining SRH for the upcoming IPL season" - Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins was delighted to be picked up by the SunRisers Hyderabad for the 2024 IPL season and expressed the same from back home in Australia.
The champion pacer missed the tournament last season and played for KKR in his latest stint from 2020 to 2022. Cummins could form a lethal pace-bowling trio with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen.
In a video shared by the SRH social media handle, Cummins said:
"Pumped to be joining SRH for the upcoming IPL season. I've heard a lot about the Orange Army, have played in Hyderabad a few times. Can't wait to get started. Great to see another Aussies, Travis Head, over there as well. I think we're going to have a lot of fun this season and hopefully, plenty of success."
This year has been eventful for Cummins, having captained Australia to the World Test Championship (WTC) and ODI World Cup titles.
Despite playing in the IPL sporadically over the years, the Aussie skipper has featured in 42 games and picked up 45 wickets at an average of 30.54 and an economy of 8,54.
