IPL 2026: Kishan named SRH interim captain as Cummins recovers; Abhishek named vice-captain

Ishan Kishan has been named interim skipper of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the early part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with regular skipper Pat Cummins recuperating from the lumbar stress issue that ruled him out of Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign. Abhishek Sharma will serve as vice-captain during this period.

“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,” the franchise announced in a social media post.

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Cummins is expected to link up with the squad in Hyderabad on March 23 after receiving clearance from Cricket Australia, though there is no confirmed timeline for his return to playing duties. The development comes merely 10 days before SRH open their campaign against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28.

In an interesting first for the league, all 10 IPL teams will be led by Indian players at the start of the season until Cummins resumes captaincy duties. The Australian all-rounder has been managing a persistent back issue that also ruled him out of his country’s T20 World Cup campaign and limited his appearances during the home summer, where he featured only in the third Test against England in Adelaide.

Kishan and Abhishek both played key roles in India’s triumph at the 2026 T20 World Cup, though neither has previously captained an IPL side.

SRH had acquired Kishan for INR 11.25 crore ahead of the 2025 auction, and the wicketkeeper-batter repaid the faith with 354 runs in his debut season at an impressive strike rate of 152.58. His performances included an unbeaten century on debut for the franchise and an unbeaten 94 later in the season.

He heads into IPL 2026 in strong form, having recently marked a successful return to India’s T20I setup. Kishan led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer.

Since his comeback at the start of the year, Kishan has amassed 532 runs in 13 T20Is at an average of 40.92 and a striking strike rate of 207.00, including three half-centuries during the World Cup. Both he and Abhishek also made crucial contributions in the final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, registering half-centuries in the title clash.