Pat Cummins returned to IPL 2026 for his first game of the season after receiving clearance from Cricket Australia to resume bowling, and immediately reclaimed the captaincy from Ishan Kishan for the clash against Rajasthan Royals. It came as a major boost for Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had lacked an experienced leader in their pace attack, even though they managed to stay in the top four with four wins in seven matches under Kishan.
Cummins, who led SRH to the IPL final in 2024, had been sidelined for a significant period, missing most of The Ashes and the ICC T20 World Cup due to injury. His return against RR marked his comeback to competitive cricket after a lengthy layoff.
There had been considerable debate in the lead-up to the fixture over who would lead the Orange Army once Cummins was fit again. Several voices had backed continuity under Kishan, especially given the uncertainty around Cummins’ fitness and his availability next season with another Ashes assignment looming. However, SRH opted for a clear call, reinstating Cummins as captain as soon as he returned to the XI.
Meanwhile, the first thing about Cummins taking over the charge worked in SRH’s favour as they finally won the toss, which Kishan was unlucky in. The Aussie paceman opted to bowl first at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
Making his return after a lengthy layoff, Pat Cummins expressed confidence in his preparation and physical condition, saying he feels fresh and ready to ease back into competitive cricket.
“Feel really fresh, it’s been a while. I have good preparation Let’s see how it goes, body feels good,” Cummins said at the toss.
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Cummins praises Ishan Kishan’s captaincy
Backing his stand-in skipper, Cummins heaped praise on Ishan for guiding Sunrisers Hyderabad with a bold and fearless approach during his absence.
“He’s fantastic, four wins in the first 7 games, he played that SRH game – bold, fearless style of cricket,” he added.
Speaking about the conditions, Cummins pointed out the uncertainty of playing at an away venue, saying the key challenge would be assessing what constitutes a competitive total.
“The challenge playing away is sensing what a good score is. First game from this venue this season, challenge for both teams,” he said.
SRH vs RR Playing XIs
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma