Sunrisers Hyderabad’s decision to hand the stand-in captaincy to Ishan Kishan, in the absence of Pat Cummins and ahead of teammate Abhishek Sharma, has not gone down well with former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.
“It is disappointing. I love Ishan Kishan, and I have seen his growth in Indian cricket, including his comeback as well,” Yuvraj said in a podcast with India Today’s sister channel Sports Tak.
Two weeks prior to the start of the new Indian Premier League season, SRH confirmed the appointment of Kishan as the stand-in skipper, with Cummins set to miss the initial part of the tournament due to a lumbar stress injury.
The decision comes on the back of Kishan’s exploits in the domestic circuit with Jharkhand, where he guided the team to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. He then contributed to India’s successful defence of their T20 title.
CAPTAINCY SNUB TO AFFECT PLAYER PSYCHE?
In this context, Yuvraj elaborated on why he believed the decision was somewhat unfair on Abhishek, who has been with the franchise for seven years. Flipping the roles of Abhishek and Ishan, Yuvraj underlined how such decisions can affect a player’s mindset and sense of belonging within a franchise setup.
“If I give you an example, switch this from a player’s perspective—say if Abhishek Sharma, before the World Cup, came into the team, his state team won, he scored a hundred in the final, came into the World Cup team, scored runs, and then became captain of the franchise,” he added. “On the other hand, Ishan Kishan, playing for one franchise for seven years, has performed, given his heart and soul, and also captains the state side, but does not get the captaincy and instead gets the vice-captaincy. Now consider the frame of mind in which he would play franchise cricket—with some disappointment.”
Yuvraj, however, said he had spoken with Abhishek, reminding him that such snubs are part and parcel of the game and that he should continue to focus on improving. “I told him to put the disappointment aside, support his captain, and try to do even better. If something has hurt you, use it as motivation to put in more effort,” Yuvraj revealed.
Yuvraj, who has been a mentor figure in Abhishek’s cricketing journey over the past few years, also drew a parallel with his own playing days, when MS Dhoni was made captain despite the presence of several senior players in the Indian side.
Abhishek will continue to act as deputy to Kishan until Cummins returns, as SRH look to win their first crown since their 2014 triumph.
ph.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– Ends
