Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins will miss the start of IPL 2026. He is recovering from a lumbar stress injury and is targeting a return in the second half of the tournament. In his absence, Ishan Kishan will lead the side.
Cummins Still Recovering
Cummins has been dealing with a back injury since July 2025. He has played just one competitive match in that time, the third Ashes Test in December 2025. He had initially hoped to play in the T20 World Cup but was ruled out after a setback in his recovery.
Speaking on the Business of Sport podcast, Cummins confirmed he has resumed bowling but is not yet ready for competitive cricket.
“I’m still recovering from a back injury, but it’s good. I’m back bowling in the nets. The IPL is starting soon. I won’t make the start of that, but it shouldn’t be too long before I’m back out there playing,” he said.
Bowling Every Third Day
Cummins said his recovery is on track. He is currently bowling every third day as part of a structured plan.
“I’m bowling basically every third day at the moment. We’ve mapped out a plan to get me right by the middle of the tournament. So hopefully, if nothing goes wrong, I’ll play the back half plus the finals,” he said.
Cummins has already arrived in India. He did light sprints and bowled casually into an empty net at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Ishan Kishan to Captain SRH
With Cummins unavailable for the opening matches, Sunrisers Hyderabad have named Ishan Kishan as stand-in captain. Kishan recently led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in December 2025.
Cummins backed the decision. “Ishan’s had a really successful captaincy stint with his local side in the last year or so,” he said.
He also spoke about leaning on senior Indian players to help bridge communication gaps within the squad.
“Most of the guys speak really great English, but some of them don’t, and there are local dialects, so that can be a little bit of a barrier for an international captain,” he said.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who last won the IPL in 2016, open their campaign against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Bengaluru on Saturday, March 28.
