"Million Dollar Baby" Pat Cummins Owes Few Dinners To Brendon McCullum, KKR Staff
Published - 10 May 2020, 01:34 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:28 AM
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emptied their pocket to buy premier Australia fast bowler in IPL 2020 auction. Pat Cummins was bought for Rs.15.50 crore from the base price of Rs.2 crore. In the process, he beat England all-rounder Ben Stokes’ price of Rs. 14.5 crore which he fetched from Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017, to become the most expensive overseas player in the history of IPL.
It was supposed to be a second stint for the No.1 Test bowler with KKR but due to novel coronavirus pandemic the fate of the tournament is yet to be decided. Pat Cummins had earlier played for the franchise in 2014-15 and then only returned to the IPL in 2017 to ply his trade for the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals).
Pat Cummins: I owe Baz McCullum and KKR staff a few dinners at least
Pat Cummins is grateful to head coach Brendon McCullum and KKR staffs for re-instilling faith in him after his previous stint with the franchise. The Australian fast bowler said he owes them at least a few dinners, adding the kind of reassurance he got from the side was great for his morale.
Cummins, however feels, with big contract comes big responsibility and once he is out there in the middle it will only be about trying and helping the team win. He is also eagerly waiting to be a part of the squad.
“I owe Baz (McCullum) and the rest of the staff who picked me a few dinners at least. Someone like Baz, I have played against him, is a great cricketer and an international captain,” the Aussie star pacer, who turned 27 on Friday, said in an interview on KKR website.
“To get that kind of reassurance that you’ve got something that I really want in the team’ is great for me. I think a big contract brings big responsibilities, but more than anything, it brings a lot of excitement.
“Once you are out there, you forget about the contract really quickly, and it’s mainly about being with the team and trying to win. I am really excited to be with the squad we put together for this season.”
Cummins has played 16 matches in the IPL, picking up 17 wickets at an average of 29.35.
