Pat Cummins will be unavailable for the first few Sunrisers Hyderabad games. Ishan Kishan is set to replace Cummins as the stand-in captain for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Cummins is healing from an injury sustained a few months ago. Abhishek Sharma will serve as his deputy for these matches.
According to sources, this arrangement is only temporary until SRH’s regular captain, Cummins, arrives for IPL 2026. The Australian pacer is set to resume his leadership duties once he regains full fitness. They will post an official announcement very soon.
We don’t know how many matches Cummins will miss for SRH. However, it is understood that he will report to the SRH camp on March 23. He will undergo rehabilitation with his franchise in India. It is speculated that he could miss the first three matches of the IPL 2026.
SRH is slated to play the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in the opening game of IPL 2026 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Recently, KSCA received government nod to conduct matches at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
In the second match, SRH will play against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 2, and then take on Lucknow Super Giants on April 5.
Cummins has not played competitive cricket since last December. He only played one Ashes Test, in Adelaide, before being injured. Due to this injury, he even missed the recently concluded T20 World Cup. However, it is reported that SRH has received clearance from Cricket Australia to honor its IPL contract. But, it looks like he will need some time before being game-ready.
There was a lot of speculation over the interim captaincy of SRH. However, a source close to the team said that the SRH management was always clear that Ishan would lead the side if such a scenario became a reality.
