Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) regular skipper Pat Cummins left the franchise and returned home midway in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) season. He left the subcontinent after their game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday night (April 2).
Notably, Cummins has not played any game for SRH this season yet as he was rehabbing from a long-term back injury. With Cummins not featuring, the Sunrisers even named a new stand-in captain in Indian batter Ishan Kishan while naming Abhishek Sharma his deputy. The onus of shouldering the leadership responsibilities on the duo will now be even stronger in the absence of the star Australian all-rounder from the SRH camp.
It is understood that the reason behind Pat Cummins going back to Australia was his fitness. Cummins was expected to undergo a final scan, which was supposed to be supervised by Cricket Australia (CA).
It is now confirmed that Pat Cummins has been cleared to play by Cricket Australia, and he will make it to the XI against Rajasthan Royals (RR). This comes as a massive boost for SRH, who have lately found some momentum.
“Being a long time coming, stinging to get back into it tomorrow,” exclaimed the SRH captain on the match eve.
ALSO READ:
The absence of Cummins have been strongly felt in the SRH lineup, especially in the bowling department where the pacers have looked rudderless without a leader and have been lacklustre, conceding big. Furthermore, SRH are also without England pacer Brydon Carse who is also nursing a injury.
With two key pacers absent, SRH are banking on the overseas duo of David Payne (Jack Edwards’ replacement) and Eshan Malinga, alongside the Indian pair of Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat. India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has also chipped in with six overs across the two matches so far.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
