SunRisers Hyderabad will not be missing their mercurial captain Pat Cummins on the field, head coach Daniel Vettori said ahead of the team’s second game of the season. Speaking at the Eden Gardens ahead of their clash with Kolkata Knight Riders, Vettori praised stand-in captain Ishan Kishan and said he was very happy with the wicketkeeper-palter’s leadership.
Australia’s Pat Cummins will miss the match against KKR due to a nagging back injury that has ruled him out of action since the 2026 FIFA World Cup T20. Cummins has spent more than six months on the sidelines, dating back to Australia’s away series in the West Indies last year. The fast bowler played just one Test in the Ashes in December 2025 before being dropped again by Cricket Australia.
Read the full article
The fast bowler is currently bowling in the nets but is not yet fully fit to play. He is expected to return to the lineup midway through the season.
In Cummins’ absence, Vettori backed Ishan Kishan to look after the SunRisers, adding that the batting was exceptional in the opening game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, a game which SRH lost by a wide margin.
“We are fortunate that Pat was in the group and was able to talk to Ishan about his style of captaincy,” said Vettori.
“But Ishan has been very successful in his captaincy career so far. So even though it might be a bit different, we don’t see it as a negative at all from a captain’s point of view,” he added.
KKR vs SRH: KISHAN FOCUSED
Ishan Kishan was the only bright spot in SRH’s match against RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28. He scored 80 off just 38 balls in an otherwise limping innings. It took a sensational catch from Phil Salt at deep cover to dismiss Kishan, who looked set for a century that evening.
Vettori said Kishan tries to lead by example, which can have a positive impact on team morale.
“As you saw in Ishan’s performance in the first match, he loves to lead, he loves to be out there and I think that can have a really positive effect on his batting and keeping. Once he understands the group and the dynamic, he will put his stamp on it and I have no doubt that he will be a very effective leader for us,” concluded the coach.
SRH will have to quickly sort out their bowling issues ahead of the match against KKR. The Bengaluru team conceded 203 runs in less than 16 overs, leaving them with a worrying Net Run Rate of -4.171.
With Cummins unavailable, SRH may need to score more than 230 runs to stay competitive in the contest.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
02 Apr 2026 11:07 IST
