SunRisers Hyderabad coach Daniel Vettori has cleared the air on captain Pat Cummins’ availability as the 2016 winners start their Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) campaign on Saturday (Mar 28). Cummins, who will miss the initial stage of the season with a lumbar stress injury, is likely to be back in April. However, no definite date has been set for the return, with SRH management ready to take their time and not rush the return.
Vettori clears air on Cummins return
"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,” Vettori said in a press conference on Friday.
"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," Vettori added.
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Who will lead SRH in IPL 2026 opener?
With Pat Cummins missing the opening few matches, SRH will be led by Ishan Kishan, who gets the nod ahead of Travis Head. Ishan is fresh from the T20 World Cup victory and played a key role in India’s triumph at home. He will have added duties on his shoulders during the initial stage until Cummins makes his return. SRH enjoyed a stellar run in IPL 2024 and reached the final before being outclassed by the Kolkata Knight Riders.

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