Irfan Pathan welcomed Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) decision to appoint Pat Cummins as their new captain ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024), starting on March 22.

However, the former Indian all-rounder raised concerns about potential issues arising from the Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) decision to hand over the captaincy to Cummins from Aiden Markram, who had a challenging season last year as SRH finished at the bottom of the table.

Pathan mentioned that Markram had a successful stint with SRH's sister team, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, leading them to back-to-back SA20 titles in 2023 and 2024.

He also pointed out that Cummins might have showcased leadership qualities by retaining the Ashes and leading Australia to victory in the WTC final and the ODI World Cup last year, but his experience in T20 cricket might be lacking.

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Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports: “When you talk about leadership, you wouldn't want to think beyond Cummins ideally. Australia just won the World Cup under him; he's performed really well in the last one and a half years. But the problem is that Cummins will look nice overall.”

Pathan added. “However, when it comes to T20 leadership, there's nothing. His performance isn't the greatest in T20 cricket and his IPL numbers aren't decent either. So, there will be a challenge. What is SRH thinking? They've made a big move here. If Cummins is made captain, what about Markram? You gave him captaincy just for one year, so wouldn't you want to back him? That is a big question.”

The former Indian star also highlighted the selection dilemma of who stays and who gets left out in the SRH lineup, as they have eight overseas players in the team with notable names like Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Marco Jansen, and Heinrich Klaasen in their ranks.

Pathan signed off by saying, “If they both play, [Wanindu] Hasaranga will struggle to make his place in the team. Even Marco Jansen could sit out because there are too many overseas players. So, there are a lot of issues. SRH needs to figure out what they have to do because even Klaasen is an overseas player. And I want personally Hasaranga becomes part of that Playing XI. Forget leadership, how will Cummins perform as a bowler? That remains to be seen.”

(With Star Sports Inputs)