Sunrisers Hyderabad returned to their winning ways under their stand-in captain, Ishan Kishan, where the team defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their second match by 65 runs after starting the tournament with a defeat against the RCB. Everything was perfect because batters stood up at the right time and bowlers scalped the wickets regularly to keep SRH in the game.
But, SRH is expected to get strengthened in the upcoming days as their regular skipper Pat Cummins is likely to play for the team after returning.
Pat Cummins, who has already missed the first two matches for SRH in IPL 2026, is expected to leave for his final scans on his injured back soon and will join the squad on April 17 before their second meet-up against Royal Challengers Bengaluru if everything goes as planned.
According to several reports, Cummins’ scan was scheduled in advance, with Cricket Australia (CA) wanting to oversee it. The Australian skipper left the camp right after SRH’s victory over KKR at the Eden Gardens. If everything goes as planned, Cummins will be able to join the camp a day prior to the clash against the RCB once he gets approved by Cricket Australia. Cummins is now expected to miss the next three matches against Lucknow Super Giants, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals.
Meanwhile, Pat Cummins had earlier dropped a hint that he might be available to play in the second half of IPL 2026 if he recovers in time.
Last month, Cummins told the Business of Sports podcast that:
"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. "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.”
In Cummins’ absence, Ishan Kishan has led the team well, registering victory in one and losing one match. Two of the prominent pacers in the white ball cricket, Eshan Malinga and David Payne, have been leading the pace attack of SRH currently. If Cummins returns in the latter half, one of these two pacers will need to sit out, considering how they would have performed with their numbers.