Sunrisers Hyderabad are preparing for a timely lift after Cricket Australia cleared pace spearhead Pat Cummins to return to bowling following his injury spell. Cummins has already resumed training, and a comeback in SRH colours could arrive as soon as Saturday’s IPL assignment against the Rajasthan Royals.
SRH’s leadership debate and the selection question
- Cricket Australia has given Cummins clearance to restart bowling after his layoff, setting up a potential immediate return to competitive cricket.
- Cummins has been back in training and is reportedly in a position to feature for SRH in the match versus Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.
- His return has reopened a central issue for SRH: whether the team should revert to Cummins as captain or keep faith with Ishan Kishan, who has captained in Cummins’ absence.
- SRH are currently placed fourth in the points standings, having collected four wins from their first seven matches, keeping them in the thick of the playoff chase.
- There is a growing belief that SRH should prioritise continuity under Ishan Kishan, particularly with fitness concerns still hovering around Cummins and uncertainty over his availability for the next season.
- With the Ashes approaching in the following year, workload management is expected to influence how SRH handle both Cummins’ workload and any leadership responsibilities he takes on.
While supporters and observers continue to weigh up who should lead, former India opening batter Virender Sehwag has made his position unmistakably clear. Sehwag backed Cummins to return directly to the captaincy role, pushing back against the argument for sticking with Kishan.
Sehwag reasoned that Cummins’ overall influence on the group makes him the natural choice to steer SRH again, noting that Kishan captained only because Cummins was sidelined. “It (Cummins’ return) is a massive, massive factor, I think he will be the captain, if I am not wrong. I think he should be the captain. Ishan Kishan was the captain because Cummins was injured, and now that he is back, he will probably be the captain. He is the better captain, he bowls well, contributes with the bat as well, so it is a boost at the right time for SRH,” Sehwag said.
He also highlighted the timing of SRH getting their main force back, framing it as a significant advantage right in the middle of the season’s most important phase.
For context, SRH’s full-time captain had returned to Australia earlier in the month for follow-up evaluations regarding a lumbar stress injury. That problem has restricted his appearances since July last year, resulting in him missing four of the five home Ashes Tests and the ICC T20 World Cup entirely.
Cummins has signalled his progress on social media as well, sharing pictures from bowling practice in the nets. In his caption, he wrote: “Been a long time coming, stinging to get back into it tomorrow.”
Who could make way in the XI?
Even as Sehwag insists Cummins should take over the captaincy, he believes SRH’s bigger problem may be not leadership, but team balance. With Cummins nearing a return, the focus shifts to which player could be left out of the playing XI to accommodate him.
Sehwag pointed to the immediate selection dilemma, saying: “The bigger question is who Pat Cummins will replace in the playing XI. Madushanka has just come in, so maybe he goes out.”
