KKR vs SRH: Pat Cummins to have upper hand over Shreyas Iyer in IPL final, claims Shane Watson as he mentions World Cup 2023

Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson is highly impressed with Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins' leadership skills.

Pat Cummins has become the first Australian since David Warner to captain the Sunrisers into the final. SRH last played an IPL final in 2018 which they lost to Chennai Super Kings. The franchise's only title-winning season had come in 2016 when they had defeated Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

The Orange Army also experienced their best IPL season since 2020 which was the last edition in which they had finished in the top 4. The South-Indian franchise had finished at the bottom in 2021 and 2023 while in 2022, they had remained 8th in the league.

It now remains to be seen if Pat Cummins becomes an IPL-winning captain as well but Hyderabad fans will be happy with the kind of season they had.

Shane Watson heaps praise on Pat Cummins

Inaugural IPL winner in 2008 with Rajasthan Royals Shane Watson heaped a lot of praise on his countryman and former teammate Pat Cummins. Watson firstly appreciated Sunrisers Hyderabad's decision in the first place to go after Cummins aggressively during the mini-auction in Dubai last year.

The Australian captain had bagged a record sum of 20.50 Crores and was appointed as captain afterward. Watson praised the SRH think tank for doing so. He highlighted Cummins' potent captaincy in high-pressure games and stressed on how he led Australia towards their 6th Cricket World Cup title in Ahmedabad on November 2023.

Shane Watson also feels that SRH are in safe hands with Pat Cummins in charge of the team as the management knows that their captain will do the right things. Even during tricky and tough situations, Hyderabad players and coaching staff know that the pacer will only think about passing the challenge.

"The confidence that having Pat Cummins as a leader will bring into the SRH team is knowing that he has captained under pressure in the biggest sports event in cricket, in the ODI World Cup just recently last year."

"So having that confidence in your leader to know, under pressure, he's gonna say the right things and know just the nuances that he will be really across in such a high-pressure situation," Watson said via Jio Cinema.

Watson claims Cummins will feel the heat of being an IPL final

The former all-rounder concluded by saying that Pat Cummins must feel like the most important person alive in the build-up to the IPL 2024 finale. And at the same time, Cummins will also be feeling the heat of the melting pot of another finale. If his side are able to beat Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai tomorrow, then the Australian will win his 3rd major silverware in less than a year's time.

"So, Pat Cummins certainly is going to be a really important person in the lead up to the game on Sunday, but also in the melting pot of a final as well," Shane Watson concluded.