The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League is about to begin, but Sunrisers Hyderabad has already suffered a blow before the start of the tournament. Australian captain and all-rounder Pat Cummins won’t be able to play due to a back injury.
Ishan Kishan will lead the team in a few matches, as Cummins is recovering from lumbar stress, which prevented him from playing in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Abhishek Sharma has been named as the vice captain.
According to sources, once Cummins recovers from injury and receives Cricket Australia's go-ahead to play in the IPL, he can take part in the tournament. As per reports, there is no confirmation on when the all-rounder can make a return, but he is expected to miss the initial few matches.
Sunrisers Hyderabad play their first match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Cummins injured himself during the 2025-26 Ashes series in December. Cummins has had an impressive track record as Sunrisers captain. The 32-year-old won 15 and lost 14 out of the 30 matches as captain of SRH, with one game ending in a no result.
Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma- Two of the most upcoming stars of the Indian team
On the other hand, both Kishan and Abhishek Sharma are upcoming stars of Team India and played a vital role in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, helping the men in blue win their third T20 World Cup. Kishan was signed by SRH for a sum of INR 11.25 crore before the 2025 season and was the highest scorer in that season, scoring 354 runs for the franchise with a strike rate of 152.58.
The left-hander was the highest scorer for Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 517 runs in the entire tournament that concluded last year, helping Jharkhand win the tournament.
The 27-year-old has scored 2998 runs in 119 IPL games with a strike rate of 137.64. Kishan scored 317 runs with a strike rate of 193.29 in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Abhishek Sharma has scored 1816 runs in 77 IPL matches with a strike rate of 163.01.
The onus will be on Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma on how they implement their plans in their respective roles, and it would be interesting to see how Kishan builds a rapport with the team, especially the younger players, as well as the team management.
