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Travis Head 

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SRH’s eventful journey 

SRH’s road to the Playoffs has been eventful. Languishing at the bottom of the table for the last three years, the Aussie duo of Cummins and Head along with New Zealand coach Daniel Vettori have transformed the SRH team from non-performers into a happy winning unit.

Cummins has been brilliant as a leader. According to former Test left-arm spinner SL Venkatapathy Raju, he has, “brought calmness and confidence to the team. Cummins has won the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup for Australia. His vast experience as Australian captain has been crucial to SRH’s campaign this season. He inspires the team and knows how to handle pressure very well. The key to any team’s success is the dressing room atmosphere,’’ said Raju. Raju insisted that Head has been a revelation in the SRH batting order. “He has brought that Australian brand of aggressive batting. That has rubbed off on Abhishek Sharma. It’s not only Abhishek, but others like Shahbaz, Nitish Kumar Reddy have also benefited in a huge way. Reddy has grown into a full-time all-rounder with his batting, bowling and fielding.”

‘Cummins brings calmness’

For WV Raman, the former Test cricketer, Cummins has rejuvenated the SRH team. “He has done what he is capable of. Being a bowler himself, Cummins knew how to go about things with his bowlers, particularly Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan and others. With Natarajan, there were some issues but he has regained his confidence; so has Bhuvi. If a bowler is a captain, he can work wonders. The calmness and experience that Cummins brings to the team is like a magic portion.”