Pat Cummins has hinted that he could return to action for Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday in Jaipur. Cummins has been cleared to return after recent scans on his back showed positive results.
The SRH captain had traveled back to Australia earlier this month for follow-up checks on a lumbar stress injury that has affected him since July last year. Due to this injury, he missed four out of five home Ashes Tests and the ICC T20 World Cup entirely. He has also missed half of the current IPL season, with Ishan Kishan leading the side in his absence.
Taking to Instagram, Cummins shared pictures of himself bowling in the nets and wrote, "Been a long time coming, stinging to get back into it tomorrow."
Even without Cummins, Sunrisers Hyderabad have performed well this season, winning four matches and losing three. They are currently fourth in the points table. While Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat did not have the best start, the pace attack has improved with Eshan Malinga taking 12 wickets, Sakib Hussain taking six, and Praful Hinge taking five.
In the spin department, Harsh Dubey has picked up eight wickets and Shivang Kumar has taken five. With the bat, Abhishek Sharma has scored 323 runs in seven innings at an average of 53.83 and a strike rate of 215.33, including one century and two fifties. Heinrich Klaasen has made 320 runs in seven innings at an average of 53.33 and a strike rate of 153.11, including three fifties, while Ishan Kishan has scored 238 runs in seven innings at an average of 34.00 and a strike rate of 188.88.
Since becoming captain in the 2024 season, Cummins has taken 34 wickets in 30 matches for SRH at an average of 29.88, with best figures of 3 for 19. He has also contributed useful runs lower down the order.
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