IPL 2025: Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins in awe of young Aniket Verma, who is "striking beautifully"
Apr 25, 2025
New Delhi [India], April 25 : Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins didn't shy away from praising the young Aniket Verma, who has been a revelation for the franchise in their dwindling season in the ongoing 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Aniket has burst onto the most competitive T20 tournament across the globe and seized the opportunity to prove his mettle with both hands. During his appearances, Aniket has offered stability and the fireworks that Sunrisers have made a reputation out of.
While Sunrisers have been chasing the shadows of their past self, with just two victories out of eight fixtures, Aniket's emergence has offered them solace, a prospect that could contribute to the franchise's future success.
"He really impressed us in the warm-up matches and in the training. I think just the way he goes out--no matter the game situation--and tries and hit sixes. And that's what he's done. He takes on spin, and it's just that freedom that he's brought to his game. He's only played a few games as of now, but he's been really impressive. He's striking beautifully," Cummins said on JioHotstar's special series.
When Hyderabad acquired Aniket in last year's mega auction for his base price of Rs 30 lakh, he had not made a single senior appearance. Despite his limited exposure, signs of Aniket's success were always evident, considering the carnage he inflicted on the field during the Madhya Pradesh League.
While featuring for Bhopal Leopards in the Madhya Pradesh League in June last year, Aniket garnered 273 runs from six innings at a staggering strike rate of 195.00. Even in the cash-rich league, the 23-year-old has maintained his strike rate impressively at 172.72 in seven innings with 171 runs to his name.
"First of all, I try to get to know them--what they look like at their best. They're similar players; both quite aggressive and like taking the game on. They've fitted in well with the team. They're the type of players we deliberately look for during auction time. We convey to them that they should just keep playing to their strengths. Making sure they know we're going to keep backing them--it's not going to work every time, you might not score runs every time, but that's okay," he added.
