Cummins led SRH in the last two seasons.
Why is Pat Cummins not featuring in SRH playing XI for the IPL 2026 opener RCB vs SRH? It is a question that will be on the minds of many fans, especially Sunrisers Hyderabad as their captain misses the opening fixture of the 19th edition.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad lock horns in the season opener of the IPL 2026, being played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Cummins is not part of the SRH playing XI with Ishan Kishan leading the side.
Pat Cummins is not playing this because of his fitness. The Australian pacer has been battling a long-term back injury that has kept him out of action since the third Ashes Test. He played only one Test in that series, and has flared up his injury further. Cummins also had to miss the T20 World Cup due to that injury.
As per the latest update, he is likely to miss a big chunk of the tournament but is hoping to play the second half, given that the recovery stays on track. He has joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad, and has started training.
“I’m back bowling. 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,” Cummins said in Business of Sport podcast.
Cummins missing half of the matches brings opportunities for other seamers in the SRH squad. They have Eshan Malinga, Brydon Carse, and David Payne as the backups, all three offering a different skill set.
Carse missed the entirety of the season last year due to an injury but the franchise opted to retain him. That shows they value the skill set he brings to the table. A tall seamer with good pace and ability to move the ball, Carse can be a terrific asset to the team.
ALSO READ:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma
SRH Impact Subs: Shivang Kumar, Liam Livingstone, David Payne, Smaran Ravichandran, Sakib Hussain
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga
RCB Impact Subs: Devdutt Padikkal, Jacob Bethell, Rasikh Salam Dar, Kanishk Chouhan, Venkatesh Iyer
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
