- By Gurmeet Batra
- Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:52 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
IPL 2026: India's left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma and wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan are in the spotlight to take the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team’s captaincy in the early matches in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, as captain Pat Cummins is unlikely to take the field in the early stage of the cash-rich league.
Cummins is unavailable as he is still recovering from a back injury.
The IPL 2016 champions will start their IPL 2026 campaign against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28.
Cummins has been out of action since the third Ashes Test in Adelaide in December 2025, and he suffered a lumbar bone stress injury in his lower back on the tour of the West Indies. He was later ruled out of the remaining Ashes matches and the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup due to the same issue.
Both youngsters, Abhishek and Ishan, were part of the Indian team that won the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup. While Abhishek has been with SRH for five years, Ishan brings leadership experience, having captained Jharkhand to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title.
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According to many media reports, Ishan might be the frontrunner, given his impressive T20 World Cup performance and domestic track record.
Kishan slammed three half-centuries in India's jubilant T20 World Cup win, and Abhishek finally found charm to smash a half-century off just 18 balls in the final, which India won by 96 runs.
"Pat Cummins is recovering from the injury, but he mostly needs to clear his fitness tests, and then he will join the team. He is ready to play, but he has to clear the fitness tests and then join the SRH set-up. As Cummins will take more time, the team management is still deciding if either Ishan or Abhishek will lead SRH,” a source told IANS.
"If all goes well, then whoever is the interim SRH captain will attend the IPL 2026 captains and managers meet, to be held on March 25 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. A customary photoshoot of all ten captains with the tournament's trophy will also be held there," said a source.
Cummins' absence for the early phase of IPL 2026 is a huge blow for SRH. The star speedster’s absence deprives SRH of having both their leader and their most dependable bowler.
SRH Squad For IPL 2026: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Aniket Verma, R. Smaran, Shivang Kumar, Pat Cummins (C), Liam Livingstone, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kamindu Mendis, Jack Edwards, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi, Eshan Malinga, Brydon Carse, Zeeshan Ansari, Sakib Hussain.