Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have announced Ishan Kishan as the interim captain for the early stages of IPL 2026, with Pat Cummins sidelined due to a lumbar stress injury that also ruled him out of Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign. Abhishek Sharma will serve as the team’s vice-captain during this period.

“Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury. Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will lead the side, with Abhishek Sharma as vice-captain,” SRH stated in a social media update.

Cummins is expected to join the squad in Hyderabad on March 23 after receiving clearance from Cricket Australia, although a return-to-play date has not been confirmed. The franchise’s opening match of the season is against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28, just ten days away.

In a first for the IPL, all ten teams will start the season with Indian captains until Cummins resumes his leadership role. The Australian all-rounder has been managing a persistent back issue, which limited his appearances during the home summer, including featuring only in the third Test against England in Adelaide.

Both Kishan and Abhishek played crucial roles in India’s 2026 T20 World Cup victory, though neither has previously captained an IPL franchise.

SRH had acquired Kishan for Rs 11.25 crore in the 2025 auction. The wicketkeeper-batsman impressed in his debut season, scoring 354 runs at a strike rate of 152.58, including an unbeaten century on debut and another 94 later in the campaign.

Heading into IPL 2026, Kishan is in excellent form, having recently returned to India’s T20I squad. He led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, finishing as the tournament’s top run-scorer. Since his comeback earlier this year, he has scored 532 runs in 13 T20Is at an average of 40.92 and an extraordinary strike rate of 207.00, including three half-centuries during the World Cup. Both he and Abhishek also made crucial contributions in the final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, registering half-centuries in the title clash.