Sunrisers Hyderabad are playing their IPL 2026 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, 28 March, without captain Pat Cummins.
Pat Cummins is recovering from a back stress injury and will miss the first few matches of IPL 2026
His absence leaves a big gap, as he has been a key performer and only captain to take SRH to a final since 2018
RCB Vs SRH, IPL 2026: Why Is Pat Cummins Not Playing For Sunrisers Hyderabad In Indian Premier League Opener?
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins is absent from the playing XI in their Indian Premier League 2026 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, as he continues to recover from a back stress injury
Summary
Sunrisers Hyderabad are playing their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, 28 March, without their star captain Pat Cummins.
Cummins, who has been managing a back stress injury since late 2025, is still in recovery and is expected to miss the first few matches of the tournament.
The Australia pacer, who seemed fit during the third Ashes 2025-26 Test, aggravated his injury, leading to an extended rehabilitation period. Although there were concerns he might miss the start entirely, Cummins joined the squad just days before the season.
“I’m still recovering from a back injury, but it’s good. I’m back bowling in the nets. The IPL is starting soon. I won’t make the start of that, but it shouldn’t be too long before I’m back out there playing,” Cummins said recently on the Business of Sport podcast.
“I’m back bowling. I’m bowling basically every third day at the moment. We’ve mapped out a plan to get me right by (the) middle of the tournament, so hopefully, if nothing goes wrong, (I will) play the back half plus the finals,” he added.
Cummins’ absence leaves a significant gap in Hyderabad’s lineup. He is the only captain to have taken SRH to a final since 2018, and his recent IPL record is exceptional.
Over the past two seasons, Cummins picked up 34 wickets at an economy rate under 10 while also contributing with the bat lower down the order, boasting an IPL batting average of 152.24. Replacing him, both as a leader and match-winner, is a major challenge for the team.
In his place, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan captains the side, with youngster Abhishek Sharma as his deputy. Head coach Daniel Vettori praised Kishan’s leadership and what he brings to the team.
“I think Ishan's been around in the IPL for a long period of time now. He's been with a number of teams and he's been highly successful, so, he brings in his own confidence around that.”
“The fact that he's led the U19s and his state team and they won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year brings a confident person, a confident player and a really confident leader and those are the attributes that we really looked at when he was appointed.”
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Cummins is bowling in the nets under a phased rehabilitation plan, aiming to return to competitive cricket by the middle of the tournament. Management and medical staff are closely monitoring his progress to ensure a full, setback-free recovery for the back half of IPL 2026.
RCB Vs SRH, IPL 2026: Toss Update And Playing XIs
Rajat Patidar, captain of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, won the toss and chose to field first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026 Match 1.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga
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