Hyderabad: Wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the first few matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, standing in for Australian legend Pat Cummins, who is yet to recover from a back injury, the franchise announced on Wednesday.
SRH have also stated that No.1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma will be Kishan’s deputy during this period.
“Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury. Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will be the Captain and Abhishek Sharma will be the Vice-Captain,” SRH wrote in a post on X.
Cummins has not played competitive cricket since the third Ashes Test in Adelaide in December 2025, after being out of action post the tour of West Indies due to a lumbar bone stress injury in his lower back.
He was subsequently ruled out of the remaining Ashes matches and the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to the same issue. The all-rounder is expected to join the team in the later stages of IPL 2026.
Kishan, who has been in the SRH camp since the 2025 IPL, captained Jharkhand to winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in the recent domestic season and has strong credentials to lead the side in Cummins’ absence. He has never captained any team in the IPL, and it will be his first stint as a leader in the world’s biggest cricket league.
Abhishek, meanwhile, joined SRH ahead of IPL 2019 and has been a mainstay with the side – forming an ultra-attacking opening partnership alongside Australia’s Travis Head. While the in-form Kishan hit three fifties in India’s triumphant T20 World Cup win, Abhishek finally found mojo to smash a half-century off just 18 balls in the final, which India won by 96 runs. He will look to continue the form in IPL 2026, where he will be the vice-captain of the side.
SRH, the IPL 2016 winners, will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28.
(IANS)
