SRH assistant coach Simon Helmot praised Pat Cummins’ captaincy and his thinking while leading Sunrisers Hyderabad. Following a disastrous 16th season, SRH pulled off a remarkable comeback and advanced to the IPL 2024 final under Cummins’ captaincy.

Helmot, who has been involved in both campaigns, highlighted the positive impact Cummins has had on the team. In a press conference, Helmot stated that Cummins’ clear and concise approach resulted in a remarkably brief 35-second team meeting prior to their Qualifier 2 match against RR.

“Extremely practical individual. He is modest and compassionate towards his coaches and colleagues. He is interested in statistics and observes the data he needs under specific circumstances to take on a given opponent. He is not a time-waster and avoids wasting time in conferences. Our team meeting lasted for thirty-five seconds,” Helmot said.

“However, a great deal of data has already been covered. There are a lot of one-on-one talks with coaches like James Cook, our fielding coach, or bowling coach James Franklin. We probably don’t have many large group meetings, but we do hold them when needed to make sure we’re prepared for everything,” he further stated.

“I believe our skipper deserves a great deal of praise. He made a quick choice after he thought the surface was in favor of spin. Two right-handers were present. He thought that orthodox left-arm spinners would do the job. I haven’t asked Pat about Abhishek, but I’m willing to speculate that it might have been a gut decision. And you’ve got to admit that was a really wise choice because it changed the course of the game,” Helmot remarked.

“However, I guess it comes down to the mindset behind SRH’s approach to the game this year. Pat and Dan get along well and are eager to try new things and the freedom to players. We saw that once more. That was evident once more with the bat and the ball. I would say that Pat and the coach deserve a lot of credit,” he claimed.

SRH will lock horns with KKR in IPL 2024 final. The Hyderabad side will look to register their first victory against the Knight Riders as they have lost twice to them in the current season.

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