WATCH: “I just wanted to go back to being a kid,” Pat Cummins didn’t want to ‘play in front of millions’ while his mother was battling cancer

He said he wanted to get away from everything and despite the outside noise of why he was missing an important series, he did not care what people thought.

WATCH: “I just wanted to go back to being a kid,” Pat Cummins didn’t want to ‘play in front of millions’ while his mother was battling cancer

Pat Cummins (Image via ESPNcricinfo, Hindustan Times)

Last year, before leading Australia to two World Cup titles, time was tough for Pat Cummins when his mother’s health was declining. He had to play the Border Gavaskar Trophy in India, but he chose to spend time with his mother and family after flying back to Australia between the second and third Tests.

At that time, very few had known that Cummins’ mother, Maria Cummins, was battling cancer. Though Cummins was expected to come back for the third Test, he did not come back and ruled himself out of the ODI series as well.

YouTube video

In a recent interview, the Australian skipper shed light on the “hardest time” of his life. He said he had to make a “deliberate” choice of playing the Test because his mom and dad love to watch their son play, revealing that they were desperate to see him play, but the latter admitted that his “mind was not in India, it was back home the whole time.” He wanted to get away from everything and despite the outside noise of why he was missing an important series, he did not “care what people think.”

Mum was a super private person, Dad is as well. So I know Mum wouldn't want any attention at all. That was probably the main reason. But two, I just wanted to go back to being a kid. Just no one knows who you are; you're just a son.
Cummins said on The Imperfects Podcast
I remember that for those two weeks [I was thinking], 'I don't want to go and play in front of millions of people and everything gets picked apart. I just want to be the kid who is sitting there with Mum and Dad'.
He added

Watch the video here:

https://twitter.com/ASahil218/status/1764857151867306250

Pat Cummins is the new SRH captain

Because of his tremendous success as an Aussie skipper, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) decided to go with Pat Cummins as the skipper for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). He replaced South Africa’s Aiden Markram who had led the side last year.

Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

Though SRH under Markram languished at the bottom of the points table, the Proteas player did lead Sunrisers Eastern Cape to two back-to-back titles in SA20. But Cummins succeeded him as the leader due to the two World Cup titles, even though he had not led an IPL team before.

This move from SRH invited criticism given that Cummins’ numbers in T20Is are not that great. He will be SRH’s third captain in three seasons as well.

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