IPL: Will Pat Cummins be available for SRH's next match?
16 Apr 2026

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will welcome back their captain Pat Cummins after his successful recovery from a back injury.

Fresh scans conducted in Sydney have cleared the Australian fast bowler for unrestricted bowling, paving the way for his return to the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL).

The scans confirmed that Cummins has fully recovered from a stress-related issue in his back.

Cummins's return bolsters SRH lineup
Return plan

Cummins will return to India on Friday and rejoin his Australia teammate Travis Head at the SRH franchise for the remainder of IPL 2026.

However, he is not expected to play immediately.

The fast bowler is likely to make his comeback against Rajasthan Royals on April 25.

SRH are scheduled to play two more games before facing RR.

This comes after a cautious approach toward his return, with SRH's next two matches being against Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals.

Cummins expected to reclaim captaincy duties from Ishan Kishan
Captaincy shift

Cummins is likely to take over the captaincy duties from India's keeper-batter Ishan Kishan, who has been leading the side in Cummins's absence.

The Hyderabad-based side currently sit fourth on the IPL points table with two wins from five games.

Cummins's return fits perfectly into his planned strategy of playing the latter half of IPL 2024, possibly including playoffs, before a busy Test cricket season for Australia.

Dan Vettori praises Cummins's exceptional fitness ahead of IPL return
Fitness focus

Australia's assistant coach Dan Vettori, who is also the SRH head coach, recently praised Cummins's fitness as "exceptional."

He said, "His fitness has been exceptional because he's obviously 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. It's obviously a bit of a painstaking process to get the loads up to where he feels confident and strong about bowling."