Sunrisers Hyderabad have engineered a remarkable turnaround this season, climbing out of an unsettled start to earn a spot in the playoffs. After a quiet, disappointing campaign the previous year and the early complication of skipper Pat Cummins being unavailable, the franchise quickly found itself facing doubts before a single ball had even been properly contested. Yet the team’s fortunes shifted after a couple of matches, and as the innings moved forward, SRH started to display a steadier structure—one that grew into a rhythm opponents struggled to disrupt. During the period when Cummins was not part of the playing group in the first half of the season, Ishan Kishan stepped into the leadership space and delivered the kind of stability that kept the side in contention among the upper ranks. His influence helped SRH hold their consistency while they worked through the challenge of settling on the most effective combination of players.
When Cummins returned, the impact was immediate, particularly in the way SRH’s bowling unit began to look more disciplined and better organised in pressure situations. From that point onward, Hyderabad looked more composed and more complete as a team, with both departments contributing in tandem—batting and bowling firing together rather than operating in isolation. The shift from Kishan’s leadership phase to Cummins’ comeback was handled smoothly, and SRH continued with the same brand of attacking intent that had come to define their season.
Cummins later addressed questions about Kishan’s captaincy stint at SRH—specifically whether the Australian pacer had a role in the decision-making around appointing him as stand-in skipper, and how he viewed Kishan’s approach and effectiveness during the opening half of the tournament. “We had a few good options. He (Kishan) has had a great domestic season as captain. I got asked a question (on stand-in captaincy), and I said ‘Oh, Ishan would be great, the boys love him’. He was awesome. I let him do his thing. I didn’t get too involved, was there if he needed me. He knows how to captain well, so I stayed out of his way,” Cummins said.
Speaking more broadly, Cummins also reflected on the side’s harder stretch after reaching the 2024 final. He pointed to the backing they received from the owners during that difficult phase, and explained how the team used the struggles from last season as a reset—an opportunity to recalibrate rather than simply dwell on results. In his view, this year’s version of the team has returned with clearer purpose, maintaining a more aggressive approach and demonstrating greater confidence in the way they want to play. “The owners have been great. The first half of last year, I don’t think we played anywhere near our potential. We won our last three or four games (last season), which showed that we were onto something with the style we wanted to play. Us at our best are right up there with any other team. We came into this season knowing that last season was as bad as we could play. Couple of new players too have bought into the aggressive style that brought us success,” he added.
