Hyderabad, April 18 (IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have received a big boost ahead of their upcoming match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 against five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium as their designated captain Pat Cummins has arrived in the city.

Cummins shared an Instagram Story showing him with his family at a restaurant. ‘Happy to be back in Hyderabad,’ he wrote in the caption. However, despite coming before the match, he will not take part in the encounter.

Cummins arrived in India ahead of the season, but didn’t take part in the match. The 32-year-old flew back to Australia right after SRH’s thrilling win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 2 for the scan on his back.

Australian Test captain cleared the fitness test on Friday, and he is now targeting to play his first match of the season on April 25, when SRH is scheduled to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur.

The Australian pacer has not played a single match since the Ashes series at home against England. He also missed the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where Australia exited for the first time from the group stage.

In his absence, SRH experimented with their pace attack and found success in debutant fast bowlers Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, both of whom claimed four-wicket hauls against RR at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium earlier this week.

Ishan Kishan is leading the side until Cummins’s return. Under his captaincy, the team has won two out of five matches in the ongoing season. They are currently placed in fourth position in the points table with a +0.576 net run rate.

SRH’s season has been a bit inconsistent, but they’ve managed important victories against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). With the advantage of playing at home, SRH will be looking to build on those positives and add two valuable points to their tally against CSK.

–IANS

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