2 min readMar 26, 2026 01:48 PM IST
It has been a remarkable last few months for Ishan Kishan. Some incredible performances with the bat and as captain for Jharkhand in domestic cricket led to him returning to the Indian team after being frozen out for over two years. Once there, he forced the management to make space for him in the playing eleven through his performances and then went on to play an integral role in India’s succesfull 2026 T20 World Cup campaign. Now, he is set to captain Sunrisers Hyderabad for the initial part of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins.
“Ishan’s had a really successful captaincy stint with his local side in the last year or so,” said Cummins on the Business of Sport podcast. Cummins said that he has always depended on the likes of Kishan and other senior Indian players to communicate with the younger local talent in the squad. “We’ve got quite an experienced bowling group of local guys… I’m definitely leaning on the local guys who do know them well — or even speak the language,” he explained.
Cummins had been able to play just one Test in Australia’s 4-1 win in the Ashes late last year and was forced to miss out on the 2026 T20 World Cup due to a back injury. He is still recovering from it and said that he is back to bowling in the nets.
“I’m back bowling in the nets. The IPL is starting soon. I won’t make the start of that, but it shouldn’t be too long before I’m back out there playing. I’m back bowling. I’m bowling basically every third day at the moment. We’ve mapped out a plan to get me right by middle of the tournament, so hopefully, if nothing goes wrong, I’ll play the back half plus the finals,” said the 32-year-old.
