"Going to be weird seeing Mitchell Starc in other dugout": SRH captain Pat Cummins ahead of KKR clash

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 22 : Australia speed cartels Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins created havoc in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auctions and it has been the talk of the town as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) roped in Starc for record-breaking Rs 24.75 crore while Cummins joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for Rs 20.5 crore.
As SRH gear up to take on KKR at Eden Gardens on Saturday to open their IPL 2024 campaign, the Hyderabad captain said it would be "weird looking across and seeing him [Starc] in the other dugout".
Even if their fortunes have changed, Cummins said that it would be weird to see his Australian teammate in the opposite dugout when they vie against each other in the IPL 2024.
"I will say this: hopefully I don't have to face Starc because that means our batters have done quite well. It's funny... it's one of the beauties of the IPL; I have been playing with Starcy for 15 years, [and] I can't remember another game where I have played against him. Also, it's going to be weird looking across and seeing him in the other dugout," Cummins said at a press conference on Friday quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"Yeah, being an opposition captain, seeing how we go about playing him will be an interesting part of tomorrow. But we're both bowlers, so I am not sure we'll cross [paths] too much," he added.
Cummins, as has been highlighted since he was selected SRH captain for the 2024 IPL season, has never captained a competitive T20 team despite being Australia's Test and ODI skipper and having played international cricket in all forms since 2011.
While talking about his lack of experience helming a T20 side, Cummins said, "Really excited, good to go. It's got its challenges. In that you play 14 games in six-seven weeks, plus finals."
He admits to having little experience in T20s and claims that bowling four overs does not put too much strain on his body because he primarily plays Test cricket.
"I'm used to playing a lot of Test cricket, so four overs isn't as taxing on your body. But it can be mentally taxing, the travel, obviously, a different country, playing a new team every few days you have to prepare for... But it's nothing new, we've done it before. Obviously, the game day is the most important. That's what we put most days into. No teams play the same XI for all 14 games. I am sure we've got to call on our squad and we're lucky we've got a young, fit squad," Cummins said.