India’s wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was named as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their initial matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign — with left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma as his deputy, as regular captain Pat Cummins is still recovering from a back injury.
SRH took to social media to announce: “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.”
SRH, 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 not played competitive cricket since the third Ashes Test in Adelaide in December 2025, after being sidelined due to a lumbar bone stress injury in his lower back following the West Indies tour.
