'We have lots of experience around our squad, like Daniel Vetori. So, you need to balance between the objective data that you gather and what you are feeling out there.'
As a leader, Pat Cummins has tasted success at the highest level and he now stands on the cusp of adding another feather in his decorated cap by winning the IPL title but the Australian skipper knows that all good things come to an end.
The Australian has been on a great run since last year, leading Australia to the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup success.
He will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024 final against former champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday in strife of a second IPL title.
"It would be great (winning the title) but the run's going to stop at some point," he told reporters ahead of the IPL final.
"It's been a great couple of years, but I haven't captained any T20 cricket team before this series. So, I'm not too sure what to expect. It's quite fast-paced."
Analysing his side's performance in the tournament this season, Cummins credited the blend of experience and youngsters for success.
"It's been huge. We have quite an experienced bowling line-up, including (Jaydev) Unadkat and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar). Also, so many youngsters have come through and have won us games by themselves, like Nitish (Reddy) and Abhishek (Sharma).
"We also have guys who have been away from the Indian setup, but they have been fantastic. So, that's been the story of our team," he said.
SRH, which finished in second place on the points table, had lost to KKR in Qualifier 1.
Following the Orange Army's win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2, assistant coach Simon Helmot admitted that Cummins took help of stats before heading into every game.
When asked about the same, the Aussie admitted that despite having the stats, one needs to back his intuition on that given day.
"All the data analytics are tools to be used. It's just another factor in the decision-making process," he reckoned.
"We play a lot of T20 games, but the two games are not exactly the same. It's different wickets and opposition, and data could take you only so far.
"So, I think you still need to back your gut feeling and intuition. Data doesn't tell you that it's probably going to be successful.
"We have lots of experience around our squad, like Daniel Vetori. So, you need to balance between the objective data that you gather and what you are feeling out there."
Cummins is hailed as one of those captains who likes to allow the players to play with freedom. He says it was important for them to ignore the outside noise.
"There's so much pressure from obviously the number of fans that are watching, media, journalists, but also from their own teams back home or their own coaches and everything as well. So, you try and strip that all away.
"When they all start, the youngsters always play with a lot of freedom, so you just want to keep encouraging that and giving them the freedom to play however they want.
"And, if it doesn't work out, you're kind of there to help them work through that rather than trying to scold them or tell them to change," he signed off.
