Pat Cummins received praise for, of all things, carrying drinks during Australia’s match against Oman at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

It has been some time since Pat Cummins moved past the days when his life used to revolve around university accounting exams. In 2023, he led Australia to title glory in two separate ICC Trophies and retained the Ashes in England. That, along with a lot of wickets for very few runs, drew comparisons with Don Bradman.

One of the greatest cricketers of our times. The most successful contemporary captain. Most would have been content with a CV like that. Not Cummins. In 2024, he led Sunrisers Hyderabad – eighth, eighth, tenth in the last three seasons – to the IPL final. Then he migrated from a major side character to the lead role in latest season of The Test, the only trilogy in history to have cast Jonny Bairstow in a negative role.

Then he signed a contract with the San Francisco Unicorns. “While cricket is integral to my involvement, the global network and long-term possibilities offered by the owners specifically, and Silicon Valley more broadly, presented a unique opportunity for me and my life beyond cricket,” he explained.

The CV thing was not a figure of speech, then. He really means business. He does not remain confined to the mundane worlds of bowling, batting, fielding, and captaincy – or accountancy or acting or even in the Silicon Valley – anymore. He wants more hidden talents to be recognised.

Perhaps that was why he strode out with drinks during Australia's match against Oman. If you think is part of his job as a substitute fielder, you are wrong. Life is trying out new things (or, in LinkedIn jargon, “progressively matrix cross-platform services”). Or it might have been an attempt to justify that Bradman tag.

Naturally, there was praise.

One can only wonder what is next in store for arguably the greatest accountant-turned-cricketer of all time. Once he is done presenting that 100-slide PPT on how to improve the drop-in pitches at New York, perhaps it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the Australian contingent at the Paris Olympics.

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