Ahead of the start of the IPL 2022, Australia pacer Pat Cummins on Sunday said that he has played with new Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer in the previous seasons of the cash-rich T20 tournament and got on really well, adding that the batter is a calm guy. The 27-year-old Shreyas was bought by KKR for Rs 12.25 cr in the IPL Mega Auction and was eventually named to lead the side. On the other hand, Cummins, who went for Rs 15.50 crore in the 2019 auction — the most expensive foreign buy at an IPL auction, was earlier released by KKR. However, he was bought back for Rs 7.25 crore at the 2022 mega auction.
The pacer, who is currently leading Australia in the Test series against Pakistan, recalled sharing the dressing room with Shreyas during the 2017 IPL season for Delhi (Daredevils). “Shreyas, I played with at Delhi(Daredevils), we got on really well. He seems like a very calm guy and seems in form at the moment. I`m so excited to go over there, I have some close friends I will be playing alongside, can`t wait,” said Cummins, during the pre-match virtual conference for the third Test. KKR had retained all-rounder Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine before the mega auction.
The Australian also spoke about the franchise`s retention. “Really excited. It`s been great that most of the squad has been able to keep together. So, most of the players and staff know really really well,” he added. Cummins also mentioned that a permanent ban on the use of saliva will not be a “big deal” for the seam bowlers. Saliva application was barred by the ICC in view of the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2020. However, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of cricket laws, recently imposed a complete ban on the use of saliva, which will come into effect in October this year. The MCC reasoned that applying saliva had no impact on the ball`s movement, according to its research. “I don`t think so (permanent saliva ban will hamper the performance of the swing bowlers),” he said. “I don`t think it has made a huge effect, as big as we might have thought it would. We can still use sweat so it`s not too big a deal,” he added.
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