IPL 2026: ‘I’m hoping to play the back half’ - Pat Cummins targets return for Sunrisers Hyderabad
"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," said Cummins.
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Pat Cummins is targeting a return for the latter half and playoffs of IPL 2026 as he continues his recovery from a lumbar stress injury, which ruled him out of the T20 World Cup. The Australian skipper has featured in just one competitive match, the third Ashes Test, since first experiencing back issues in July last year.
Cummins had initially hoped to participate in the T20 World Cup but suffered what he described as a minor setback in his recovery, forcing him to miss the start of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s campaign. In his absence, Ishan Kishan is set to take over captaincy duties.
The right-arm pacer has since arrived in India and was seen doing light sprints during warm-ups at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, before bowling casually in the nets. Cummins admitted that his best-case scenario would be regaining full fitness in time for the second half of the IPL and the knockout stages in late May.
"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. 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'll] play the back half plus the finals,” said Cummins in the Business of Sport.
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Cummins also backed Ishan Kishan to succeed as captain in the early part of the season, citing his recent leadership stint with Jharkhand, whom he guided to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in December. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who lifted the IPL trophy in 2016, will begin their 2026 campaign against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 28.
"Ishan's had a really successful captaincy stint with his local side in the last year or so. Those guys, you're leaning on anyway. We've got quite an experienced bowling group of local guys, so a few of the younger guys that come through that I don't know as well, particularly early on in a season, I'm definitely leaning on the local guys who do know them well - or even speak the language. Most of the guys speak really great English, but some of them don't, and there are local dialects, so that can be a little bit of a barrier for an international captain,” said Cummins.
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