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Pat Cummins: ‘Abhishek, Klaasen, Trav, Ishan shouldn’t be told that they can only bat a certain way. You want to see them at their full flight’ | Cricket News

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Pat Cummins: 'Abhishek, Klaasen, Trav, Ishan shouldn't be told that they can only bat a certain way. You want to see them at their full flight'
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s skipper Pat Cummins and teammates celebrate the wicket of Chennai Super Kings’ Kartik Sharma during their Indian Premier League 2026 match at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on Monday. (ANI Photo)

New Delhi: Every now and then, the cricketing world needs a reminder that Pat Cummins remains exceptional at his primary craft: fast bowling. Yet, in the process, Cummins the captain has been somewhat overshadowed. Amid the celebration of his extraordinary skills with the ball, his tactical brilliance as a captain has been flagrantly overlooked.But one cannot deny that Cummins the captain and Cummins the bowler are inseparably intertwined.Nowadays in the IPL, even a score of 264 is not safe, and it is Cummins’ ultra-aggressive captaincy that has shifted the paradigm of this tournament. In his first season as captain in IPL 2024, he set the tone. And who can forget his dressing room talk to his teammates, where he famously said: “Everyone’s terrified when they come up against us and we’ve got to blow some teams out of the water before they’ve even walked out onto the field.SRH had a difficult 2025 campaign. This season, things have looked different, and they are once again in the playoffs. Although Cummins joined the campaign midway after recovering from a stress injury, SRH continued to play a “take-no-prisoners” style of cricket under stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan, a brand that had been instilled into their DNA by Cummins.In an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com on the sidelines of the New Balance Grey Days 2026 celebration and the launch of The New Retail Concept store in Noida, Pat Cummins opens up about his captaincy style, SRH, the six-hitting madness in T20 cricket, workload management, being an all-format cricketer, and why he went “wow” after watching Vaibhav Sooryavanshi bat. Edited Excerpts: It’s turning out to be another strong season for you at the SRH. How has the ride been so far?It’s been great. It’s a bit of a different season for me, joining halfway, but I felt really high energy and really excited to be part of it. The team has been playing fantastically well, strong contributions across the whole squad, which has been really pleasing.

Ahmedabad, May 12 (ANI): Sunrisers Hyderabad's skipper Pat Cummins celebrates th...

Ahmedabad, May 12 (ANI): Sunrisers Hyderabad’s skipper Pat Cummins celebrates the wicket of Gujarat Titans’ Nishant Sindhu during their Indian Premier League 2026 match at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

Joining the team midway and then sustaining the momentum, it seemed like a seamless takeover from Ishan Kishan. Tell us a little about thatIshan is a fantastic captain, fantastic around the boys, so I kind of stayed out of the way for the first seven games. Obviously, Daniel Vettori, the head coach and the whole coaching staff, they’re great as well, so it’s all very seamless, whether it’s Ishan or myself captaining, not much changes about how we go about it.The last few seasons you and SRH in particular have been the pioneers in changing the way T20 cricket has been played. How difficult was it to imbibe that mindset in the group?I think it’s a natural fit for T20 cricket. There’s 10 teams in this competition, if you just want to be average, you’re not going to make it, so you’ve got to do something that stands you out, makes you stand out from the pack. Look around at some of the talent, Abhishek (Sharma), Klaassen( Heinrich), Trav (Travis Head), Ishan (Kishan), these guys shouldn’t be told that they can only bat a certain way. You want to see them at their full flight.A lot of my style is getting out of the way and let those guys go and play their natural game.

I think it is the new reality. You do not have that many tools at your disposal. Cutters do not normally grip, there is not much swing, there is not much bounce.

Pat Cummins on bowlers plight in T20s

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We see the kind of pitches, the runs that have been scored, every time it has been told that bowlers need to be upskilled. Do you really see how much a bowler can do, because balance has tilted one way?I think that’s the new reality. You don’t have that many tools at your disposal. Cutters don’t normally grip, there’s not much swing, there’s not much bounce.I don’t think it’s anything different to what it was a few years back. Batters have been a bit more aggressive and maybe starting to realise that they can score a bit quicker than what they previously thought. I think that’s been the biggest challenge.As a bowler, you’ve just got to adapt to the new normal, find ways to defend yourself. Even if it’s the second over in a game, that might be a super important over you’ve got to try and defend.

Captain Pat Cummins

SunriserscCaptain Pat Cummins

How does Pat Cummins prepare when he knows he will be bowling to a 15-year-old teenager like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who takes on the bowlers from the word go?I think he keeps everyone on their toes.You think the batter’s going to play a certain way and you see someone like him come out and try and hit every ball for six. You’re like, okay, this is fun. How am I going to counter this challenge? It’s mostly the way I look at it. If something gets thrown at me, I’m like, okay, this is interesting. How do I try and solve this problem.

I think the trend is you see players being rested from a few more games than previous generations because you are trying to avoid the big 12-month injuries.

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Pat Cummins on challneges of bring ann all-format bowler

It’s been a growing trend now that very few would end up playing/mastering every format. Not just batters but even bowlers. Very few are left – yourself, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell Starc and Kagiso Rabada. You reckon every team/country will now look at formats in isolation and not maybe have repetition of players across formats?I’d say not necessarily. I think the trend is you see players being rested from a few more games than previous generations because you’re trying to avoid the big 12-month injuries.Before this injury, I played a lot of cricket over the last five years, bowled a lot of balls, but I was also rested from a few games here and there. There’s just so much cricket. For example, next year, it’s an ODI World Cup year.I’m sure I’ll probably play more ODIs that year than I have in the previous few years. Just like a T20 year, I’ll probably play more T20s.

Pat Cummins Training Session

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 22: Pat Cummins takes part in a training session at Cricket Central on October 22, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

How challenging is it to transition between formats, especially going from something as physically demanding as a five-Test series straight into the intensity of the IPL?Particularly in Test cricket, we try and carve out a little bit of time before or post to make sure that you are ready for the Test matches but also get a little bit of recovery after them. They’re the ones that I find probably the easiest to adapt to. And then T20s, I feel like I’ve played enough over the last couple of years, so you’ve just got to mentally switch on and know what your style is.How do you manage the toll it can take on the body and mind over such long stretches of cricket?I’m a little bit used to it, but when we do have a little bit of a break, we’re not on holidays. We’re at home, going to the gym every couple of days, trying to get strength in so that when we do play a Test match, our body’s ready for the rigours of it.

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I was like wow after seeing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi going nuts against me.

Pat Cummins

When was the last time Pat Cummins went wow while watching a cricket or IPL match. Like taken aback by what you witnessed in a fixture.Went wow? Probably seeing Sooryavanshi (Vaibhav) going nuts against me.You are one of the most successful leaders for Australia. Bowlers do make great captains right? Would you want to see more of that?The fast bowler’s always the smart ones, so it makes sense. I just think whether you’re a bowler, a keeper, whoever you are, I think your role on the team shouldn’t really matter whether you can be a captain or not.For example, when I’m talking about my own bowling and my own plans, a lot of times I gravitate to the other bowlers because they’ve got really good insight on how they’re seeing the game, so I think it’s a pretty natural fit for bowlers to be captains.

What aspect of Pat Cummins’ game do you find most impressive?

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You have got a young family as someone constantly travelling and performing under pressure, how important is routine and balance in your everyday life?That’s the hardest thing about this lifestyle. I’ve spent a fair bit of time at home the last 12 months with my injuries, but they’ve come over to India, so our little four-year-old’s been to about 20 countries. You get very good at packing different bags and packing toys, but it’s fun. It’s hard work at times, but you always get home and you create some great memories.

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Towering statue of Pele unveiled in Guadalajara ahead of FIFA World Cup | FIFA World Cup 2022

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Pele's statue installed in Guadalajara

Pele’s statue installed in Guadalajara


A large statue of soccer great Pele was unveiled Thursday in the Mexican city of Guadalajara to commemorate his achievements with the Brazilian national team.


Pele, who died at age 82 in 2022, won one of his three World Cup titles in Mexico at the 1970 edition of the tournament.


“This monumental figure of this great player, who played here and scored a great goal, is a great gift to the people of Jalisco and to all visitors,” Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus said. “Pele loved Guadalajara, and the Brazilian national team fell in love with it because the Mexican public gave them everything in 1970.” 

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The 9.5-meter-tall (31-foot) statue is located in a public square called Plaza Brazil outside the Jalisco Stadium, which hosted matches in the 1970 and 1986 World Cups. For its 1970 title run, Brazil played its first-round, quarterfinal, and semifinal matches at the stadium before beating Italy in the final at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.


“People who come to the Jalisco Stadium now will stop to take pictures. This statue will be a landmark, especially since it depicts a football star like Pele,” Lemus said. “It’s a great gift for the World Cup.” 
In the 2026 World Cup, Guadalajara will host four first-round matches: South Korea vs. Czech Republic on June 12; Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18, Colombia vs. Congo on June 23, and Uruguay vs. Spain on June 26.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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First Published: May 22 2026 | 12:32 PM IST

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Pro reveals details of insane tattoo bet with caddie

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On Sunday, Lottie Woad enjoyed what is becoming a regular tradition in her pro career.

With a final-round 69 at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, Woad, who is 22, won her second LPGA event (and third event in total) since turning pro in the middle of last year. Woad’s victory was the latest highlight in her rapid climb up the food chain in the women’s game. It was also a moment of affirmation for one of her more … eclectic competitive rituals: a bag of gummy bears that has served as her good-luck charm.

As the story goes, the tradition started with Woad’s caddie, David Taylor, a veteran LPGA looper who evidently shares her sweet tooth.

“So, back in the UK, we’ve got kind of little supermarket called Marks & Spencer, and they do this sweet called Percy Pigs, and it just so happened that Singapore had one of these little small supermarkets, and I came across it one night when we were out for dinner,” Taylor said. “So, I took them and I put them in the bag, and I said, ‘These are some birdie sweets.’”

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Caddies are famously adept at discovering motivational tools for their players, and in Taylor’s case, the key to Woad’s heart was simple.

“Now, every player is driven by different things, some are financially driven, Lotte is in fact driven by sweets,” he said. “So, I put them in the bag, and I said, ‘Every birdie you make, we get one each.’ So it’s not she’s going to hit some mad sugar rush or anything.”

Woad is careful to point out that she’s not exactly housing gummy bears during the course of competition. The candies are a boost that helps to break up the monotony of life on the road.

“I don’t know, we’ve done it the last few events that we remembered,” Woad said with a grin. “Yeah, I think people think that we’re like stuffing our faces with sweets during the round, but like realistically we’re eating like four gummy bears.”

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But Woad’s moment in the sun at the Kroger Queen City Championship was dually rewarding, and not just for the sugar high of a pro victory. As Taylor explained in an interview with SiriusXM, he’d made his pro an unusual promise: The next time she won an event, she could choose the design for the next tattoo on her caddie’s body.

Woad’s victory in Cincy meant that she had earned that right, and as you might expect, there was only one option that made sense.

“Actually, about one hour ago, I got a text message from her, and she’s finally chosen what to get,” Taylor said with a laugh. “She’s chosen the piece, and it is, in fact, going to be a little gummy bear with a crown on it.”

A gummy bear with a crown — fitting for the first crowning of a new LPGA heavyweight player-caddie pairing … and one that just so happened to come in the Queen City.

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You can’t put it on kids

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Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned Ruturaj Gaikwad for attributing the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) early exit from IPL 2026 to a young and inexperienced team. He highlighted that the blame shouldn’t be put on kids and that the seniors need to own up.

CSK were eliminated from IPL 2026 after an 89-run loss against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Thursday, May 21. The visitors were bowled out for 140 in pursuit of a 230-run target.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter opined that Gaikwad should have spoken about the underperforming seniors instead of the youngsters while reflecting on CSK‘s exit in the post-match interview.

“He said that’s a very young team, that they cannot show that much faith in youngsters, and that they don’t have enough experience. I am wondering why those who have experience aren’t being spoken about. The talk should have been about Sanju Samson, Rutu, Shivam Dube, and Dewald Brevis. The talk shouldn’t be about Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, or Urvil Patel. What they did was excellent,” Chopra said.

“The talk should actually be about the elders. Rutu, how was your season? Kids bring bravado and an attacking approach. They don’t bring consistency, and how will they bring consistency? They are kids. So whose responsibility was it? You said you would open and don’t want to let Mhatre open. You needed to score runs. I agree that anyone can have a bad season, but you need to own up. You can’t put it on kids that they didn’t do well,” he added.

Ruturaj Gaikwad aggregated 337 runs at an underwhelming strike rate of 123.44 in 14 innings in IPL 2026. Shivam Dube (270 runs at a strike rate of 158.82 in 12 innings) and Dewald Brevis (151 runs at a strike rate of 127.96 in eight innings) also weren’t at their best this season.


“The mistake was in the auction as well” – Aakash Chopra on CSK’s IPL 2026 exit

Dewald Brevis was one of the two overseas batters in CSK's IPL 2026 squad (Image via X/@IPL)Dewald Brevis was one of the two overseas batters in CSK's IPL 2026 squad (Image via X/@IPL)
Dewald Brevis was one of the two overseas batters in CSK’s IPL 2026 squad (Image via X/@IPL)

In the same video, Aakash Chopra reckoned it wasn’t the youngsters’ mistake, highlighting that CSK had also erred in the IPL 2026 auction.

“In that interview, it seemed like it was the kids’ mistake. It wasn’t the kids’ mistake. The mistake was in the auction as well. You had two overseas batters, and they weren’t even like-for-like. You played with three overseas many times,” he said.

While acknowledging that Gaikwad might not have had enough time to reflect on the loss before the post-match interview, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that his comment was odd.

“Plenty of problems that can be talked about later, but I found that one comment odd. Putting your responsibility on someone else is not the nicest way of doing things. You might not have got enough time to think about it post-match, you reacted suddenly, and you don’t mean it perfectly, but it still felt slightly odd as the kids have done decently. It wasn’t about them at all,” Chopra observed.

However, Aakash Chopra concurred with Ruturaj Gaikwad that the Chennai Super Kings were hit hard by injuries in IPL 2026. While terming CSK the ‘Chotil Super Kings’ because of the number of injuries they have endured, he pointed out that even Sanju Samson got injured while keeping in their last league game.

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