New Delhi: Australian pacer Pat Cummins has joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squad ahead of theirIndian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener against Royal
Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Cummins linked up with the rest of his teammates during SRH’s training session in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
The Aussie quick, who is recovering from a lumber stress injury, was awaiting clearance from Cricket Australia to travel to India for the IPL 2026. Cummins, who will continue to lead SRH this season, will miss the first few matches for the franchise as he is yet to attain full fitness.
Ishan Kishan has been appointed as SRH’s captain and will lead the team in Cummins’ absence. Cummins’ absence is a big miss for SRH, who will also be without Aussie all-rounder Jack Edwards, who has been ruled out due to an injury. In Cummins’ absence, SRH’s pace attack might struggle as there will be a severe lack of quality.
The team management will hope for the likes of Harshal Patel, Ehsan Malinga and Brydon Carse to step up to ensure Cummins’ absence is not felt in the pace attack. SRH have one of the best batting line-ups in the tournaments with the likes of Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head in their ranks, however, their bowling appears thin heading into the new season.
Cummins last played for Australia in the third Ashes Test against England in December last year and missed the T20 World Cup 2026. It remains to be seen how many matches the pacer will miss before returning to lead SRH in IPL 2026. On Wednesday, Cummins took part in a light warm-up and bowled a few deliveries with a shortened run-up in an empty net at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
SRH aim to get off to a winning start
SRH will look to get off to a winning start when they take on defending champions RCB in their opening game of the season at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, March 28. SRH will rely on their batting firepower to get the better of the defending champions in the absence of Cummins. SRH finished a disappointing sixth last season and will be hoping to make it to the playoffs in IPL 2026.
