Pat Cummins won’t play at the start of IPL 2026, so Sunrisers Hyderabad said so themselves. Leadership now sits with Ishan Kishan until further notice. Details about his return stayed unclear at first. Some thought he’d miss nearly every game early on. Then came word from coach Daniel Vettori – fully fit, possibly back within ten or twelve days.
Giving extra information, the ex-all-rounder said Cricket Australia is carefully tracking how fit Cummins really is. While his general condition looks good, according to him, the real issue sits with how much he bowls. Though he’s been out for the Ashes and the T20 World Cup due to injury, officials stress they’ll take their time bringing him back. That pace won’t be forced, they’ve stated clearly
Out of action for ages, his condition still stands out. Time away meant extra hours focusing purely on getting fit again. Not everything came easy though – handling long spells with the ball stayed tricky. After approval from Cricket Australia to slowly increase overs, progress depended heavily on how fast his breathing could match expectations. Confidence comes slow when pushing through heavy workload like that. A clearer idea might show up around ten to twelve days from now, giving some sense of when he’ll step back onto the field. That’s what Vettori shared just before SRH faced RCB in their first IPL 2026 match.
Will Smaran play in the IPL?
A few local batters keep putting pressure on selectors, keeping the squad mix still up in the air. Because of how they’ve done lately – both in games and training – the choices aren’t turning out as clear-cut as first thought, according to Vettori.
“Smaran is probably in the best form among anyone in India. Salil’s form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy and warm-up games has been incredibly impressive. Abhishek (Sharma) has been a huge fan of him. We just have to balance our fifth and sixth bowler options against a very strong RCB batting line-up,” Vettori said
