Ishan Kishan did not walk out for the toss for Sunrisers Hyderabad’s IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, with Pat Cummins back in the side and resuming his role as skipper. Before Cummins returned, Kishan had taken the captaincy charge for SRH in seven matches. Cummins had been absent for the opening stretch of IPL 2026, sidelined by a lumbar bone stress injury that kept him out during the first half of the season. Once he made his comeback, Cummins reclaimed the captaincy, while Kishan’s involvement for Saturday’s game was limited to a place in the playing XI rather than the leadership reins.
At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals in match number 36 of IPL 2026. For SRH, the skipper’s return came with a reshuffle in the XI: Dilshan Madushanka was replaced, and Praful Hinge was brought into the playing group in place of Harsh Dubey.
Speaking at the toss, Cummins laid out SRH’s thinking for the opening phase. “We’re going to have a bowl first. The wicket looks good, but we have to see what we need to chase down. (How are you feeling?) Still really fresh. It’s been a little while, but I’ve had really good preparation, a couple of bowls over here. I haven’t played a game for a while, so we’ll see how we go. But the body feels awesome. I’ve come in for Madushanka, and Hinge has come in for Harsh Dubey,” he said.
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag, meanwhile, reflected on the decision and the team’s broader approach. “We were looking for the same as well, but having said that, over the last couple of seasons, we haven’t really done well chasing. So I’m happy with defending as well. I think we’ve played most of our cricket here, the majority of our cricket here. We know this wicket really well. We have had our camp right since the season started as well. Seems like a pretty good wicket. Maybe a little bit of dew coming in later on, but it won’t really play that much of a role. I feel the openers have done really well, but they can continue doing well, and hopefully we can pick up our slack. (Combination the same?) No, we’re going for one instead of three-two,” Parag added.
