Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Daniel Vettori has provided an encouraging update on captain Pat Cummins' fitness ahead of the IPL 2026 opener on March 28 in Bengaluru. SRH have already confirmed that Cummins will not be part of the team's first few matches as he continues to recover from a back injury. In Cummins' absence, Ishan Kishan has been named the side's captain and will lead the side until Cummins is back on the field.
“His fitness has been exceptional. He’s been out of the game for an extended period of time, so he’s had time to work on fitness. The only challenge for him was the bowling load. Once he got the all-clear from Cricket Australia to build those bowling loads, it’s a bit of a painstaking process to get the lungs up to where he feels confident and strong about bowling," Vettori said ahead of SRH's clash against RCB on Saturday.
"Hopefully, we can get a definitive timeline, probably in the next 10-12 days, on when he can return to play,” Vettori said.
Notably, Cummins has been out of action since the Adelaide Test against England last year due to a lumbar stress injury. His absence is a big blow to SRH's bowling attack.
"It's always a challenge when you take out that integral part of your team's captain and fast bowler but I think we've got suitable replacements and I know Ishan is incredibly excited about the captain of the team and we can lean on Pat the whole time until he's actually able to play," Vettori added.