Pat Cummins made his return to the IPL in 2026 with his opening appearance of the campaign, stepping back into action after receiving the go-ahead from Cricket Australia to resume bowling. In the very match on his comeback, he also reclaimed the captaincy from Ishan Kishan for Sunrisers Hyderabad’s contest against the Rajasthan Royals. The change proved a timely lift for SRH, particularly for their fast-bowling unit, which had been without an established pace leader, even as the franchise still managed to remain in the top four thanks to four wins from their first seven outings under Kishan.
Cummins, who steered SRH to the IPL final in 2024, had been forced to sit out for a long spell because of injury. During that time, he missed most of The Ashes as well as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Facing Rajasthan Royals marked his reintroduction to match cricket after that extended period away from competitive action.
Before the fixture, there was plenty of discussion around who would wear the captain’s armband once Cummins was fit again. Many supported keeping the role with Kishan, pointing to the uncertainty surrounding Cummins’ availability and the possibility of another Ashes assignment affecting next season. Despite that debate, SRH made a straightforward decision: as soon as Cummins returned to the playing XI, he was reinstated as skipper.
One immediate advantage for SRH after Cummins took over was winning the toss. Kishan, who had been leading the side previously, was on the wrong end of that moment as the contest began at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. With the toss in hand, Cummins opted to bowl first.
At the toss, speaking about his readiness after the long layoff, Pat Cummins projected confidence in both his preparation and his physical condition. The Australian pacer said he feels fresh and ready to ease back into the rhythm of competitive cricket.
"Feel really fresh, it's been a while. I have good preparation Let's see how it goes, body feels good," Cummins said.
Cummins backs Ishan Kishan’s captaincy
Even as Cummins returned to lead, he also made it clear he valued what Kishan had done in his absence. Praising his stand-in skipper, Cummins highlighted Kishan’s aggressive and fearless approach while guiding SRH during the earlier phase of the tournament.
"He's fantastic, four wins in the first 7 games, he played that SRH game – bold, fearless style of cricket," Cummins added.
When asked about the conditions, Cummins pointed to one of the key challenges of playing at an away venue: understanding what total can be defended. He stressed that the first game at that ground during the season adds an extra layer of difficulty for both sides.
"The challenge playing away is sensing what a good score is. First game from this venue this season, challenge for both teams," he said.
SRH vs RR Playing XIs
- Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora(w), Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga
- Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma
