A former Australian batter Ian Chappell praised Australian pacer Pat Cummins for his captaincy, claiming that any player who is not inspired by him “is in the wrong game” and that his bowling, leadership, and bravery when discussing off-field matters make him the ideal captain while as captain of Australia, Pat Cummins is definitely enjoying the time of his life.
A former Australian batter Ian Chappell praised Australian pacer Pat Cummins for his captaincy, claiming that any player who is not inspired by him “is in the wrong game” and that his bowling, leadership, and bravery when discussing off-field matters make him the ideal captain.
As captain of Australia, Pat Cummins is definitely enjoying the time of his life. Cummins led Australia to the ICC World Test Championship championship, the Ashes urn against England, and a record-tying sixth ICC Cricket World Cup title in a few months after being named ODI captain following Aaron Finch’s retirement and serving as Test captain.
There are many admirable contributions hidden throughout this outstanding run as captain, both as a fast bowler and a batter in critical situations.
“Australia won an impressive sixth World Cup thanks to dynamic fielding, batting, and bowling heroics, and enormous self-belief. However, the captaincy of Pat Cummins should not be overlooked when assessing Australia’s excellent achievement,”
said Ian, writing for ESPNCricinfo.
Chappell said that Cummins was always going to be a capable captain. Cummins, according to Ian, was the team’s most inspirational player and possessed “cricketing common sense.”
“Cummins was always going to be a good captain. Overlooking for a moment the difficulties of being a fast-bowling skipper, he was easily the most inspirational player in the Australian team, and one blessed with cricketing common sense,”
he added.
“Any cricketer who is not inspired by Cummins is in the wrong game,”
continued Ian.
According to Ian, Cummins is a superb fast bowler who frequently poses problems for the opposition’s top batters and is renowned for his ability to take wickets in crucial situations.
“These qualities make him amply qualified to be an inspiring captain. The rest is a matter of him leading the Australian side and seeing what he can make of the job. The only way to improve as a captain is to do the job, make the odd miscalculation, and quickly learn from any setbacks,”
added Ian.
Ian stated he had outperformed himself in 50-over cricket after establishing himself as a successful captain in Test matches.
Ian said that Imran Khan of Pakistan, Richie Benaud of Australia, and Ray Illingworth of England are three such bowlers who made excellent captains, which is uncommon in cricket.
The former great Australian added that Cummins has established himself as one of the aforementioned captains by managing to perform successfully as a captain in many countries, formats, and circumstances.
“Only Imran of that trio – an excellent leader of great presence–played in an era of rapidly growing limited-overs cricket. Imran crowned an excellent captaincy career by guiding Pakistan’s “skilled rabble” cricket team to an outstanding World Cup win in 1992. Cummins has now equaled Imran’s and Kapil Dev’s laudable achievements of clinching a World Cup trophy as a fast-bowling captain,” Ian added.
Ian added that Cummins has a right to select the coach of his choice following Justin Langer’s resignation as head coach.
“He now works with Coach Andrew McDonald but is in no doubt that is running the cricket side of things – it is, as it should be, the captain,”
he added.
Ian also said that it is refreshing to watch Cummins and his team in action.
“While I can guarantee from personal experience that a lot of codswallop is written and spoken about what happens on the cricket field, it is refreshing to watch Cummins and his team in action. Cummins’ side is often spoken about as an ultra-aggressive Australian unit minus the ugly side effects,” he said.
The former batsman categorized Cummins with Indian spin legend and former captain Anil Kumble, as well as former Australian batter Mark Waugh as
“fierce competitors who convey their intentions purely by their actions.”
“Shooting your mouth off does not make you a tough player; quite often, it is exactly the opposite,”
he added.
In the “dog-eat-dog social media climate,” Ian praised Cummins for taking a statement on off-field issues, such as Black Lives Matter and climate change, saying that it is difficult for a cricket player to do so.
“But Cummins has had the guts to be front and center on issues he is passionate about. In acknowledging an invitation from Cummins to a symposium on the effect of climate change on cricket, I am not only declaring my involvement but also expressing admiration for the captain’s stand. Cummins is absolutely serious about climate’s effect on the planet,”
he added.
Ian felt that although Cummins had faced difficulties as a captain, such as his clash with England Test Captain Ben Stokes during the Ashes this year, Cummins would become a better captain as a result.
“Cummins’ captaincy experience will be improved by the intense skirmish with Stokes,”
he added.
Ian said that Cummins was the right choice as a captain.
“Cummins was the right choice as Australian captain and he has done an extremely good job. Even in the ultra-demanding climate of Australian cricket, he has earned the right to remain captain for as long as he wants the role,”
he concluded.
On December 14, Australia and Pakistan will play their first Test match at Perth Stadium which is set to begin at 1:20 PM AEDT.Australian squad for first Test vs Pakistan: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner