Australian pacer Pattrick Cummins has said that pressure plays a big role in shaping the behaviour and overall aspect of a player. He says that a player remains under pressure every game, irrespective of their level of performance in the previous games.
“Whenever you play professional cricket anywhere, there will be lots of pressure. If you are coming off a good game, there is pressure to do it again, if you are coming off a bad game, there is pressure to perform,” Cummins said in a chat with the Kolkata Knight Riders website.
Cummins has been in the eye of a storm after he was bought for a whopping Rs 15.5 crores in the auction ahead of the last edition of the IPL.
The pacer went on to say that there is enormous pressure on players to justify the price they were offered but their worth in the eyes of a franchise does not make it any easier for them as playing conditions such as swing in the air, quality of the pitch and opponents remain the same howsoever big the player’s worth is.
“I guess the auction brings another kind of pressure. We just got to try and manage this. Just because you have gone for more money doesn't mean, the ball suddenly swings more or the wicket is suddenly greener, or the boundaries are bigger. It's the same playing field, so, I just try to concentrate on what I do well. I guess that’s what is going to bring about the best success for KKR while I'm here.” Cummins added.
Cummins had made his IPL debut in the 2014 edition for the KKR but featured in only four games across the first two seasons. However, he picked up pace as his stocks in international cricket started to soar and played two good seasons of the league in 2017 and 2020. KKR will be eager to have him in a top-notch form in the next edition of the IPL starting on April 09.