Ishan Kishan appointed interim captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad with Pat Cummins set to miss few games

Star batter Ishan Kishan has been appointed interim captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad while Abhishek Sharma has been named his deputy. The decision has been taken in view of Pat Cummins' lack of availability for the first few games of IPL 2026.

The Australian Test and SRH skipper is recovering from a lumbar stress issue in his back and has missed several games in the last few months. The all-rounder last played a competitive game in December 2025 which was the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. Notably, that was the only game that Cummins played during the Australian summer.

As per reports, the 32-year-old is expected to obtain Cricket Australia's clearance for travel to India soon and is scheduled to arrive in Hyderabad on March 23. Meanwhile, SRH will begin their campaign in the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28.

𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 🚨

Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury.

Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will be the Captain and Abhishek Sharma will be the Vice-Captain. pic.twitter.com/etXJUkQJeG

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 18, 2026

All 10 IPL teams to have Indian captains for the first time

Cummins' absence for the initial phase means that all the 10 IPL teams will have Indian captains for the first time ever. However, it is likely to last only until Cummins returns to action and takes over the reins from Kishan. The Jharkhand batter, meanwhile, was bought for INR 112.5 million prior to the last season and had a great start to his stint with the franchise, scoring a magnificent 106* against Rajasthan Royals.

Kishan ended up amassing 354 runs in 14 matches at a healthy strike rate of 152.58. The southpaw is in sublime form of late after scoring 317 runs in the recently concluded T20 World Cup and finishing as the fourth-highest run-scorer.