"It felt like we celebrated the World Cup win the whole summer" - Pat Cummins, India, and the art of defying odds 

Several videos became viral from Cyberabad’s Inorbit Mall in the last week of April. Pat Cummins visited the shopping centre, first with his son and then, to attend an event a few days later. And you could see several people crowding the SunRisers Hyderabad captain, screaming his name, with the entire space reverberating with ‘SRH, SRH’ chants.

The setting was no different as he walked in to inaugurate Mumbai's first ever store of New Balance, a brand he's been associated with for over a decade.

For someone who put India to the sword in two finals – World Test Championship and ODI World Cup – in the same year, Cummins enjoys an unprecedented fanbase in this country. A part of the reason is he’s not the typical pugnacious Aussie. His presence doesn’t hit you in the face. And yet, the World Cup-winning skipper commands respect for quietly going about his business, and with aplomb.

As India were slowly clawing back into the WTC final, riding Ajinkya Rahane’s superlative half-century on Test comeback, Pat Cummins conjured a wicket out of nowhere to end the 109-run stand.

A few weeks later, Australia were staring down the barrel in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston. England needed just two wickets to wrap up the contest with the visitors 54 runs adrift of the target. And Pat Cummins rose to the occasion once again. He struck a counter-attacking 44 off 73 balls while also handholding Nathan Lyon in an unbroken ninth-wicket alliance. Fittingly, the winning runs came in a boundary as Australia buried the spectre of Ashes 2005.

A similar script played out in the semifinal of the 2023 World Cup. Australia needed 30 runs with three wickets in hand against South Africa on a tricky surface at Eden Gardens. But Pat Cummins made sure he got his side over the line. And eerily, the winning shot was another steer down to third man which went for four.

And his contribution in the summit clash need not be elaborated. It has been eulogised, part of folklore, never mind Travis Head winning Player of the Match for his 120-ball 137. You could almost close your eyes and see Pat Cummins run in and hit the hard length with metronomic precision.

He's a master at defying the odds, exactly what he did to those who cast aspersions on a fast-bowler captain. No wonder, he was adjudged the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2023. No wonder, SRH had to stave off interest from three franchises and shell out a whopping 20.50 crore to sign him at the IPL 2024 auction.

And it has brought about a new dawn for the Hyderabad-based outfit. They have logged their joint-second highest points tally across the last six seasons, with three league matches still to be played.

As an IPL skipper now, Pat Cummins is continuing in the same vein. The 30-year-old is the second highest wicket-taker for the franchise with 13 scalps. He posted his best score of the season on Monday (May 6) when his unbeaten 35 off 17 balls helped SRH recover from 136 for eight to finish with 173.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Pat Cummins spoke about his long-term partnership with New Balance, captaining SRH, the World Cup triumph and, of course, winning the toss and electing to bowl on November 19 last year.

(Pat Cummins inaugurated New Balance’s first Mumbai store at Linking Road on May 4.)

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Excerpts from Pat Cummins' exclusive interview to Sportskeeda:

Pat Cummins at the new NB store at Mumbai's Linking Road

Q. How did you personally celebrate the World Cup win after going back to Australia? How many days did it take to sink in?

Pat Cummins: I think it’s still sinking in [chuckles]. Because we are all living in different states, we all flew off a little bit differently. So first of all, it was just getting around with the family, friends. My brother actually got married the day I got back, so that was like a double celebration. We got back together with the Test team about two weeks later and we were all still just smiling, on a high. So it felt like we celebrated the World Cup win the whole summer.

Q. On behalf of all Indians, what was your reading of the Ahmedabad pitch on November 19 and why did you choose to bowl in a World Cup final?

Pat Cummins: The Ahmedabad pitch looked pretty dry. But the big thing there was the dew that was going to come in. We thought it might be a little bit dry, so it must spin a little bit during the day but, once the dew sets in at night, it’d be pretty nice to bat on. So I took a bit of a risk.

Q. In a recent interview, Travis Head credited you for his turnaround in fortunes. What was the conversation with him and how did you manage to give him that security?

Pat Cummins: That’s nice of Trav. I think Trav, in particular, is one of those guys you are terrified of as a bowler. Because he looks like he’ll play you with complete freedom, he takes the game on. You feel like you can bowl your best ball and if he wants to, he can hit that for four or six. So that’s a lot of the message you’d be saying to Travis. Don’t overthink it, don’t try to think you’ve got to play a certain way and have a big front-foot defence. Just go for it; bowlers are scared of you. And it’s not always going to work, but you are good enough that it’s going to work more often than not.

Q. While everyone talks about a fast bowler's fitness, how important is it to wear the right shoes?

Pat Cummins: Shoe is the most important thing us fast bowlers care about. Especially around Test cricket or one-day cricket – where you are bowling a bit more – if your shoes are a little bit off, you have sore feet, you have blisters, and you actually can’t bowl.

Q. How do you feel New Balance is different from the other legacy brands?

Pat Cummins: I think the biggest thing for New Balance is they invest a lot of time into research and development. They put a lot of effort into their shoes – every year coming out with a new style, that’s just that little bit better than the previous year.

Q. Do you have any fond anecdotes to share about your association with New Balance from your formative years?

Pat Cummins: Yeah I have been with New Balance since I was 18. It’s been like 13 or 14 years. For about four or five of those years, I was injured. But New Balance stuck with me, and really supported me. They even flew me out to Boston one time. I worked with the design team there, talking through the bowling shoes, and what I wanted to see in the next lot of bowling shoes. So they’ve been an amazing support for me over the years.

Q. Your leadership has come in for as much praise as SRH's blistering opening stands. If a young kid were to ask you for captaincy tips, what would you say?

Pat Cummins: Some of the best advice that I’ve been given is to just be yourself. If you’ve been picked as captain, it’s because they want you and not you being like someone else. So just make sure you stick true to kind of how you are. First of all, keep your game in order and then try to encourage the teammates around you and keep bringing out their best selves.

Q. It's tricky for a new captain to be a hit in their first season. How does an international star create that space and be approachable for the uncapped players?

Pat Cummins: I don’t know. Uh, as a captain, there’s only so much that you can do. If we’re winning, it’s not normally the captain, it’s normally amazing batters and bowlers. I just try and be myself. I am there if anyone needs anything, have a bit of chat about cricket anytime, and just be really clear. Me and the coach Daniel Vettori know how we want the boys to play and just back our players in.

Q. You've been part of several champion sides. What separates the winner from the runner-up and how does one approach the big day?

Pat Cummins: I think it's your inner belief. It’s that intangible that does make a difference. When you walk up to a big game, everyone there has a real belief that they are going to win it and everyone wants to be a match-winner. And people don't get overawed about the occasion, but they feel like they belong there and they just want to give it their best shot. I’ll tell you that’s probably one of the big ones. The other one is luck [laughs]. You need to have luck.