The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have revamped their leadership roles ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). With regular skipper Pat Cummins expected to miss the start of the season due to injury, SRH have named a new captain in wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, while making explosive opener Abhishek Sharma the deputy.
The news of the same was confirmed by the franchise on their official social media handles.
For the unversed, the Australian Test and ODI skipper has been out of action for some time now due to a back injury he suffered last year during the West Indies tour. He played just one competitive game from July 2025 till now, when he made a brief return to feature in just a solitary Ashes Test. Subsequently, he also missed out on participating in the recent T20 World Cup 2026, where Australia had a disappointing campaign, failing to clear the group stages.
It is now understood that Cummins is focused on his rehabilitation and recovery and does not want to rush his comeback. While the exact number of matches the veteran all-rounder will not be available is still unknown, the Sunrisers franchise confirmed that he ‘will miss a few games’.
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Both Abhishek and Ishan are players in similar roles – top-order batters who can decimate any bowling attack. Furthermore, both players have leadership experience in domestic cricket yet Ishan still emerged as the favourite to lead the side.
Firstly because, Ishan did a commendable job last season where he led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2025), while also delivering the goods with the bat and finishing the tournament as the highest run-scorer.
The next pointer is that Ishan’s recent form has been brilliant while Abhishek has struggled. Abhishek managed just 141 runs at a paltry average of 17.62 in the T20 World Cup 2026 whereas Ishan extended his domestic form to international cricket. After impressing in the IND vs NZ series, he finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer after Sanju Samson in the ICC event, with 317 runs at a fiery strike rate of 193.29, including three fifties.
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