With uncertainty surrounding the availability of Pat Cummins for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2026 season, Sunrisers Hyderabad have reportedly identified Ishan Kishan as the frontrunner to lead the side.
According to a report in The Times of India, the franchise management has already discussed the matter internally and sees Kishan as the most capable option to captain the team if Cummins is unavailable.
The Australian fast bowler has been dealing with a lumbar stress back injury since July 2025 and has managed just one appearance — during the home The Ashes series last December — in the past eight months. The injury also forced him to miss Australia’s campaign in the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
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Kishan joined SRH ahead of the 2025 IPL season for INR 11.25 crore and scored 354 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 152.58, including a century and a fifty.
Overall, the India star is a veteran of 119 IPL matches across three franchises. He has scored 2,998 runs in 112 innings at a strike rate of 137.64, with one century and 17 half-centuries.
Kishan will head into the IPL 2026 campaign riding high on his recent exploits in T20Is for India. Earlier this year, he returned to the national side after selectors moved away from their Shubman Gill plan for the World Cup, bringing Kishan in as a reserve wicketkeeper.
The left-hander made an immediate impact at No. 3, including a century in the home series against New Zealand, which helped him secure a place in the starting XI for the World Cup.
Kishan eventually finished as India’s second-highest run-getter in the victorious campaign, scoring 317 runs in nine innings at an average of 35.22 and a strike rate of 193. He struck three half-centuries during the tournament, including one in the final.
