The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have made a surprise captaincy call before IPL 2026, as their captain and Australian superstar Pat Cummins will miss the start of the tournament.
With Pat Cummins unavailable, the Sunrisers Hyderabad have made a bold call, and the timing could not be better. They have decided to hand the captaincy to Ishan Kishan for the start of the upcoming IPL 2026, starting on March 28 in Bengaluru.
SRH shock everyone as Ishan Kishan named captain ahead of IPL 2026
Interestingly, Ishan was picked ahead of Abhishek Sharma despite joining the franchise only in the last season. Abhishek, who started his journey with the SRH, has been named the vice-captain.
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They announced this decision because Cummins is still recovering from injury and will miss the first few matches. The SRH posted, X: “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.”
𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 🚨
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. pic.twitter.com/etXJUkQJeG
— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) March 18, 2026
Ishan Kishan’s poor SRH start and T20 World Cup heroics
Ishan is entering the new season after a mixed first year with the franchise. Last season, he scored 354 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 152.58. The left-handed batter looked dangerous, but he could not maintain his rhythm as the SRH failed to make it to the playoffs.
Well, Ishan’s red-hot form for India must be the reason behind his appointment as the captain. He was one of India’s biggest heroes during their triumphant T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.
He finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer with 317 runs in 9 innings at an explosive strike rate of 193. This form pushed him to No. 2 in the ICC T20I batting rankings, and that says everything about the level he is playing at right now.
Strong Jharkhand record shows why SRH trusted Ishan
Additionally, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter is also coming in with strong leadership numbers. He recently led Jharkhand to their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in December 2025, and that win gave a big boost to his captaincy image.
Overall, Ishan has captained Jharkhand in 79 matches across formats. In T20 cricket, his record is especially impressive as he has won 23 out of 29 matches. In List A cricket, he has won 21 of 37 matches. Ishan has stayed unbeaten in 13 games, with 6 wins and 7 draws, in first-class cricket.
His captaincy journey started long ago. In 2016, he led India to the final of the Under-19 World Cup. These numbers show that Ishan knows how to handle a team and win the big games.
Captaincy snub can’t overshadow Abhishek Sharma’s explosive rise
On the other hand, Abhishek Sharma missed out on the SRH captaincy for IPL 2026 despite spending seven seasons with the franchise and leading Punjab in domestic cricket. Abhishek has the captaincy experience, but Ishan’s leadership record for Jharkhand is much more impressive.
Still, Abhishek remains one of SRH’s biggest stars. The 24-year-old is now the world’s No. 1 T20I batter and enters IPL 2026 as a key opener. He had made his IPL debut with a price tag of ₹55 lakh, and he has now become a ₹14 crore star. SRH retained him for both 2025 and 2026.
Abhishek has so far played 77 IPL matches and scored 1,816 runs in 74 innings at a stunning strike rate that stands at 163.02. He has 1 century, 9 fifties, and 101 sixes in the league already.
