IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan Named SunRisers Hyderabad's Stand-In Captain; Abhishek Sharma To Be Deputy

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) confirmed on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) that Ishan Kishan will lead the team in Pat Cummins' absence for their first few games in Indian Premier League's 19th edition. Cummins is recovering from a back injury.

Kishan, who led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 title in December 2025, will have fellow India southpaw Abhishek Sharma as his deputy.

SRH, however, did not specify the number of matches Cummins is set to miss. Cummins has been sidelined with a stress injury on his lower back, which kept him away for a major part of the last Ashes series Down Under as well as the T20 World Cup.

Kishan's appointment as the IPL 2016 winners' stand-in captain comes after a successful run across formats. The wicketkeeper-batter played a crucial role in India's victorious campaign in the T20 World Cup, ending up as the fourth-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 317 runs in nine games at a strike rate of 199.37. He averaged 80.25 and hit three fifties.

His exploits with the bat also saw Kishan jumping to the No.2 spot in the ICC rankings for T20I batters, a list which is led by Abhishek.

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