Same Script, Two Leagues: Cummins & Labuschagne's IPL–PSL Debut Captaincy Déjà Vu
It has been a fascinatingly similar trajectory through franchise T20 cricket for both Pat Cummins and Marnus Labuschagne this year, albeit in separate leagues and different years. Each has emerged as a dominant red-ball player, yet in each instance, stepped into the leadership role in the shorter format of the game, and enjoyed immediate success.
Cummins was the captain for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the 2024 Indian Premier League season, whilst Labuschagne had his stint captaining Hyderabad Kingsmen during the 2026 Pakistan Super League campaign, both taking charge of a T20 side at this level for the very first time, and both being largely questioned on their respective abilities in this form of the game. But both went all the way to the final in their first season at the helm.
A Dream Start Turns into a Similarly Painful End
Pat Cummins' Sunrisers Hyderabad enjoyed an excellent IPL 2024, attacking intent and consistent displays throughout the league stages of the competition winning eight out of their 14 league games and reaching finals. And similarly Labuschagne's Hyderabad Kingsmen, a newly formed team for PSL 2026, went all the way to the final with their direct win streak proving to many about their capability in this edition of the league.
However in the final stages, the narrative of each story turned almost exactly on its head. Under the pressure cooker environment of a final both the teams, and for that matter both the captains couldn't deliver the goods.
In the final of IPL 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad were bowled out for just 113 against KKR, a tally which eventually proved very expensive, whereas in PSL 2026 the Hyderabad Kingsmen too seemed to fail miserably as they were bundled out for 129 in the final game.
Against both sets of opposition, they chased down the score easily, leaving both Cummins and Labuschagne just a title short in their debut captaincy years as T20 skipper.
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A Rare Parallel in Franchise Cricket
Rare is it, that we find two players mirroring each other, in entirely different leagues, and in entirely different time periods:
- Both leading Hyderabad based franchises (Cummins leads SRH, Lasbuchagne leads HYK)
- Both T20 captain debutants
- Both reaching the final in their debut season
- Both underperforming in the final
- Both finishing as runners up
Though in both instances the outcome was far from ideal, but both the captains had brilliant runs in the respective tournaments. Taking any team to a final on your debut is no easy feat, and you have to commend both the captains on this aspect.
For both Cummins and Labuschagne this may pave the way to captaincy in T20 cricket further in their respective careers, though falling just short in the final, one thing that cannot be denied is the fact that they both led their teams deep into the tournament.