Two days are left for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The first match of the league will be played between Rajat Patidar’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Ishan Kishan’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Bengaluru.
Pat Cummins set to miss initial IPL 2026 matches due to injury
Ahead of this highly-intense clash, Australian captain Pat Cummins and one of the finest players of all time, Pat Cummins, who is set to miss the few matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, due to injury. However, he gave a major update about his return to the tournament.
Pat Cummins signed with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL in 2024 for Rs 20.50 crore. The franchise retained him for Rs 18 crore ahead of the IPL 2025, after his impressive captaincy and strategies led the ‘Orange Army’ to the finals of the tournament.
Pat Cummins joins SRH squad ahead of IPL 2026
Ahead of the opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Pat Cummins has joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) squad in India. Not only this, he also provided a big update about his recovery and return date.
Pat Cummins opens up on injury and return timeline
Cummins said he is aiming to return in the second half of IPL 2026, including the finals: “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,” Cummins said on the Business of Sport podcast.
“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, so hopefully, if nothing goes wrong, (I’ll) play the back half plus the finals,” Cummins added.
SRH’s face bowling concerns in Cummins’ absence
After Pat Cummins’s injury, SRH is left with Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga and David Payne as the three bowling options. However, his absence made a sudden impact on their bowling attack. Not only this, none of them have much experience of playing in the IPL. Carse and Payne have joined their ‘Orange Army’ squad as Jack Edwards’ replacement.
Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for IPL 2026
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins, Heinrich Klaasen, Ishan Kishan, Salil Arora, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Liam Livingstone, Harshal Patel, Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Harsh Dubey, David Payne, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivam Mavi, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Krains Fuletra