Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori expressed confidence that Pat Cummins will return to lead the side once he regains full fitness, though the Australian pacer will miss the opening matches of IPL 2026. Cummins, who missed the T20 World Cup due to a back injury, has already arrived in India but is yet to receive a fitness clearance to feature in the tournament. Vettori expects him to be available within the next 10 to 12 days, adding that the team is monitoring his recovery closely.
In Cummins’ absence, Ishan Kishan will take charge as captain when SRH begin their campaign against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener on Saturday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, marking a key early test for the young wicketkeeper-batter’s leadership skills.
Vettori provided an update on Cummins’ fitness, detailing the careful process the Australian pacer is undergoing to return to full match readiness. He highlighted the focus on strength and conditioning, while noting the gradual buildup of bowling workload as a key step before Cummins can rejoin the playing XI.
“His fitness has been exceptional because he’s been out of the game for an extended period of time, so, he’s had that time to work on that fitness, a real block of work around strength and conditioning. The only challenge for him was the bowling loads.
“So once he got the all clear from Cricket Australia to build those bowling loads, it’s obviously a bit of a painstaking process to get the lungs up to where he feels confident and strong about bowling. Hopefully, we can get a definitive timeline, probably in the next 10-12 days around when he can return to play,” he added.
“Ishan Kishan incredibly excited about captaincy”
Vettori acknowledged the challenge of missing Cummins, both as captain and key fast bowler, at the start of the season. He expressed confidence in the team’s replacements and praised Ishan Kishan’s enthusiasm in leading the side, while noting that Cummins will continue to provide guidance until he returns to play.
“It’s always a challenge when you take out that integral part of your team’s captain and fast bowler but I think we’ve got suitable replacements and I know Ishan is incredibly excited about the captain of the team and we can lean on Pat the whole time until he’s actually able to play,” he added.
