Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins has left for Australia after linking up with the team ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He returned home following the conclusion of the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Kolkata.
Ishan Kishan has been leading SRH in Cummins’ absence. According to reports, the Australian pacer’s return home was a planned one as he is set to have one last scan on his injured back under the supervision of Cricket Australia (CA).
Cummins to return against CSK?
However, if everything goes well, Cummins is expected to return to India and rejoin the squad on April 17. With a short turnaround time between his return and SRH’s next game on April 18 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), it wouldn’t be surprising if the management takes the call to have him play the game against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Hyderabad on April 21.
Cummins has played just one competitive game – the third Ashes Test – since July.
Before leaving for India to join the team ahead of the IPL, Cummins told the Business of Sports podcast, “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.
“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.”
SRH have won one out of their two matches in IPL 2026 so far. They will hope to add to their wins when they take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 5 (Sunday) in Hyderabad.
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