NEW CHANDIGARH: Pat Cummins has played only seven games this IPL season, having missed the first half of it recovering from a lower back injury. When he joined Sunrisers Hyderabad mid-season, the team was wobbling a bit and was out of the top four in the points table. Now, with the league phase over, SRH find themselves in the playoffs for the second time in three years, with Cummins leading the team to five wins out of the final seven. That is not a coincidence.James Franklin, SRH’s assistant coach, knows exactly what Cummins brings to the team. His contribution goes beyond the ball he bowls. “We all know his (Cummins’) wonderful attributes as a leader, not only for SRH but for Australia as well,” Franklin said on Tuesday ahead of the Eliminator clash between Sunrisers and Rajasthan Royals. “I think, particularly, when you talk about the young bowlers in our team, they have a captain who is also a bowler and he really has that sort of empathetical side to him. Empathy makes Pat a special captain.”That understanding, Franklin said, comes from Cummins knowing what a bowler feels at the top of his mark, under pressure and with the game on the line. He reads those moments not as a distant captain but as someone who has lived them. “He understands how the bowlers are feeling at the top of their mark when they’re under pressure, what ball they’re potentially going to bowl, how they’re going to try and execute,” Franklin said. “He has that understanding and knows what is going to pan out.”Cummins’ leadership has made a visible difference in the SRH dressing room. The younger fast bowlers, like Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, trust that their captain will not just demand execution but guide them through the stressful situations. “It’s wonderful for the youngsters; they know that they’ve got a captain that truly understands how they’re feeling,” Franklin said. “Pat’s guidance for them through pressure moments is one of his strong traits as a leader.”That guidance becomes most important during a knockout match. Asked how Cummins handles the weight of a knockout game, Franklin said, “Pat just normalizes the game and I think the players respond to that wonderfully. The mood within the group is the same. It is incredibly consistent.”
