Not IPL, Test cricket for Australia is my priority, says SRH captain Pat Cummins
SunRisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins has led the franchise to a second playoffs finish in three seasons. Under Cummins, SRH have rebranded themselves in T20 cricket and have also forced the entirety of the Indian Premier League to adapt a more aggressive style of play.
However, ahead of their final league stage game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Cummins has hinted once again that the Indian Premier League, and in turn SRH, is not the highest priority in his career and will not be in the near future either.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo at a promotional event ahead of their final home game of the season, Cummins unequivocally stated that Australian cricket, particularly Test cricket, is going to remain his priority over the next 18 months. He also explained that this was the reason behind taking an extended break to recover from his injury during this IPL season.
Cummins missed seven matches, nearly half of the IPL season for SRH, while recovering from a lower back injury sustained midway through last year. He played one Ashes Test match in December and January, after which he put himself through another extended period of rest.
With a busy Test and ODI schedule ahead of him, Cummins said that he does not want to miss a single Test match in the near future.
“Nothing has changed for me, my priority is Australian cricket, No. 1, particularly Test cricket. As Test captain, I never want to miss any Test cricket and make myself available for as many Aussie games as I can,” Cummins said.
So where do the IPL and SRH figure in the plans of one of the best leaders of his generation? In the holiday window, according to Cummins.
“The IPL is good in that it normally fits in our holiday break, so that’s the obvious one, but they are probably my main focuses and I don’t see that’s going to change at all for the next few years for me at least,” he said.
CUMMINS’ ALLAYS FITNESS CONCERNS
Cummins’ fitness and workload concerns have also meant that he refused to take over the T20I captaincy for Australia despite multiple requests following the retirement of Aaron Finch. Mitchell Marsh was eventually appointed captain, despite his own injury concerns keeping him away from bowling for more than two years.
Speaking about his own fitness issues, Cummins said that the extended break was designed to make his body feel fully refreshed. The SRH captain added that the injury has now completely healed and that he feels the best he has in the last six or seven years.
“I actually feel really fresh for the last four months. I haven’t played as much. So physically, I feel as good as I have probably in six or seven years. I think a lot of the reason why I did probably miss longer than perhaps I could have was with the next 18 months in mind,” Cummins said.
“Stress fractures in your back do recur quite often and we just wanted to eliminate all that risk to make sure that if I had a problem in six months, that could rule me out of a lot of those 20 Tests. So physically, I feel great. My back’s fully healed, really strong. We took a very low risk approach to the rehab to give myself the best chance to play all those Test matches,” he concluded.
Since returning to the SRH side, Cummins has been a key component of the attack. The fast bowler has not only provided SRH with key breakthroughs but has also maintained a sensational economy rate in the majority of his matches.
SRH will play their final league stage game against RCB at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, May 22. A massive win by 88 runs or more would give SRH an outside chance of finishing in the top two this season.
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