Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to hand over stand-in captain Ishan Kishan in the absence of Pat Cummins and ahead of teammate Abhishek Sharma has not gone down well with former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.
“It’s disappointing. I love Ishan Kishan and I’ve seen his growth in Indian cricket, including his comeback,” Yuvraj said in a podcast with India Today’s sister channel Sports Tak.
Two weeks before the start of the new Indian Premier League season, SRH confirmed the appointment of Kishan as the alternate captainwith Cummins missing the opening part of the tournament with a hamstring injury.
The decision came on the back of Kishan’s performances on the domestic circuit with Jharkhand, where he led the team to its maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. He then contributed to India’s successful T20 title defence.
CAPTAINCY SNUB TO AFFECT PLAYERS’ PSYCHES?
In this context, Yuvraj elaborated on why he feels the decision was somewhat unfair to Abhishek, who has been with the franchise for seven years. As Yuvraj switched roles between Abhishek and Ishan, he highlighted how such decisions can affect a player’s mindset and sense of belonging within a franchise.
“If I give you an example, switch it from a player’s point of view – let’s say if Abhishek Sharma came into the team before the World Cup, his national team won, scored a hundred in the final, got into the World Cup team, scored and then became the captain of the franchise,” he added. “On the other hand, Ishan Kishan, who has played for one franchise for seven years, performed, gave his heart and soul and also captained the state side, but he didn’t get the captaincy and instead got the captaincy. Now consider the frame of mind in which he would be playing franchise cricket – with some disappointment.”
However, Yuvraj said he spoke to Abhishek and reminded him that such insults are part and parcel of the game and that he should continue to focus on improving. “I told him to put the disappointment aside, support his captain and try to do better. If something hurts, use it as motivation to work harder,” revealed Yuvraj.
Yuvraj, who has been a mentor in Abhishek’s cricketing journey for the past few years, also drew a parallel with his own playing days when MS Dhoni became the captain despite the presence of several senior players in the Indian side.
Abhishek will continue to deputize for Kishan until Cummins returns as SRH look to win their first crown since their 2016 triumph.
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Published on:
03 Apr 2026 20:09 IST
