"If he doesn't even captain Australia in T20Is, there will be a question mark on such a huge price tag" - Irfan Pathan on SRH's buy of Pat Cummins

Irfan Pathan isn't convinced about the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) decision to pay a huge sum to acquire Pat Cummins at the IPL 2024 auction. He noted that the Australian Test and ODI skipper doesn't even captain his national side in the shortest format.

SRH spent a whopping ₹20.50 crore to acquire Cummins at the auction in December last year. They also bought five other players for a total sum of ₹10.30 crore.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked about his views on the SunRisers Hyderabad's purchase of Cummins. He responded:

"Pat Cummins - WTC (World Test Championship) was red ball and he won the ODI World Cup final, which was 50 overs. His numbers are not that good in T20 cricket. However, when you place such a huge bid, you say how can you make him sit out. So that pressure will be there on them."

"I believe Pat Cummins hasn't yet proved himself in T20 cricket, forget about the IPL, even in Australian cricket. Does he captain Australia in T20Is? If he doesn't even captain Australia in T20Is, there will be a question mark on such a huge price tag," the former India all-rounder added.

Cummins has picked up 55 wickets at a decent economy rate of 7.37 in 50 T20Is. However, he hasn't played a shortest-format game since Australia's exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup.

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"They will have a slight headache in choosing the playing XI but that's a good thing" - Irfan Pathan on SRH

The SunRisers Hyderabad finished last in IPL 2023. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Irfan Pathan was also asked about his views on the SunRisers Hyderabad's overall squad. He replied:

"They will have a slight headache in choosing the playing XI but that's a good thing. It's better to have that headache instead of not having options at all. I feel the SunRisers will have a different combination than what they had last year, which I feel is a good change."

The cricketer-turned-commentator urged SRH to play Wanindu Hasaranga regularly.

"In the combination that is created, the shortcoming that has been there for the last few years can be overcome if they regularly play one player in the playing XI, that is Wanindu Hasaranga," Pathan said.

SRH bought Hasaranga at his base price of ₹1.50 crore at the auction. Travis Head (₹6.80 crore), Jaydev Unadkat (₹1.60 crore), Akash Singh (₹20 lakh) and Jhathavedh Subramanyan (₹20 lakh) were their other four purchases.