<p>SunRisers Hyderabad on Wednesday announced that Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan will lead the franchise at the start of Indian Premier League (<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=IPL">IPL</a>) 2026 as World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins is set to miss a few matches in the season. </p><p>Further, India opener Abhishek Sharma has been appointed as the vice-captain. While Abhishek is ranked No.1 in the ICC T2o rankings for batters, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=Ishan%20Kishan">Kishan </a>ranks No.2. </p>.IPL 2026 | Bowling worries return as RCB eye title defence .<p>“Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury. Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will be the Captain and Abhishek Sharma will be the Vice-Captain,” SRH announced on X.</p>.<p>While it is not clear how many matches Cummins will miss, the Australian pacer is set to join the SRH camp on March 23, according to a <em>Cricbuzz </em>report. </p><p>Cummins has not played a single competitive match since December, where he featured in only one Ashes Test in Adelaide. A back injury has kept him out of action, one which also saw him miss the recently concluded T20 World Cup. </p><p>SRH play the season opener against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28. </p>.IPL 2026 | Harshit Rana set to miss most of season with knee injury.<p>They play their second match on the road as well, facing Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on April 2, before playing in front of the home crowd for the first time in the season against Lucknow Super Giants on April 5.</p><p>Kishan, who joined SRH last season, was acquired for Rs 11.25 crore. He smashed his way to a fantastic century on debut for the team but managed to score only about 250 runs in the next 13 innings, including a solitary half-century. He maintained a high strike rate of 152. </p><p>The southpaw has been in good form, making a comeback into the Indian team on the back of an outstanding Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy. He played a key role in India's successful T20 World Cup campaign, scoring 317 runs, including three half-centuries. He also reached the milestone in the final while batting at No.3 against New Zealand. He is expected to bat at the same position for SRH, given that Abhishek and Australia's Travis Head open the innings. </p><p>Kishan has vast experience, playing more than 100 IPL matches and accumulating over 3,000 runs over the years. He was also the captain of the India Under-19 squad in 2016, when the team went down to West Indies U-19 in the final. </p><p>Newly appointed vice-captain Abhishek had a horror start to the T20 World Cup, registering three ducks on the bounce. However, half-centuries against Zimbabwe in the Super 8 stage and a whirlwind 52 off 21 balls in the final against New Zealand meant that his contributions helped India roll over the opponents when it mattered the most. </p>
<p>SunRisers Hyderabad on Wednesday announced that Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan will lead the franchise at the start of Indian Premier League (<a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=IPL">IPL</a>) 2026 as World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins is set to miss a few matches in the season. </p><p>Further, India opener Abhishek Sharma has been appointed as the vice-captain. While Abhishek is ranked No.1 in the ICC T2o rankings for batters, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/search?q=Ishan%20Kishan">Kishan </a>ranks No.2. </p>.IPL 2026 | Bowling worries return as RCB eye title defence .<p>“Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury. Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will be the Captain and Abhishek Sharma will be the Vice-Captain,” SRH announced on X.</p>.<p>While it is not clear how many matches Cummins will miss, the Australian pacer is set to join the SRH camp on March 23, according to a <em>Cricbuzz </em>report. </p><p>Cummins has not played a single competitive match since December, where he featured in only one Ashes Test in Adelaide. A back injury has kept him out of action, one which also saw him miss the recently concluded T20 World Cup. </p><p>SRH play the season opener against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on March 28. </p>.IPL 2026 | Harshit Rana set to miss most of season with knee injury.<p>They play their second match on the road as well, facing Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on April 2, before playing in front of the home crowd for the first time in the season against Lucknow Super Giants on April 5.</p><p>Kishan, who joined SRH last season, was acquired for Rs 11.25 crore. He smashed his way to a fantastic century on debut for the team but managed to score only about 250 runs in the next 13 innings, including a solitary half-century. He maintained a high strike rate of 152. </p><p>The southpaw has been in good form, making a comeback into the Indian team on the back of an outstanding Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy. He played a key role in India's successful T20 World Cup campaign, scoring 317 runs, including three half-centuries. He also reached the milestone in the final while batting at No.3 against New Zealand. He is expected to bat at the same position for SRH, given that Abhishek and Australia's Travis Head open the innings. </p><p>Kishan has vast experience, playing more than 100 IPL matches and accumulating over 3,000 runs over the years. He was also the captain of the India Under-19 squad in 2016, when the team went down to West Indies U-19 in the final. </p><p>Newly appointed vice-captain Abhishek had a horror start to the T20 World Cup, registering three ducks on the bounce. However, half-centuries against Zimbabwe in the Super 8 stage and a whirlwind 52 off 21 balls in the final against New Zealand meant that his contributions helped India roll over the opponents when it mattered the most. </p>
