Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have received a massive boost as their regular skipper Pat Cummins has been cleared to play by Cricket Australia. Cummins cleared the fitness test today and the fresh scans revealed that he can resume playing without any restrictions. Since August 2025, the Aussie Test captain has played only one professional game, third Ashes Test vs England, and will be eager to return to the field.
Cummins will join the SRH squad ahead of the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Saturday, but he is targeting a comeback on their April 25 clash against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. This means Cummins will not only miss the game vs CSK but also against the Delhi Capitals on April 21.
He is also expected to take over the leadership mantle from Ishan Kishan, who was appointed captain in his absence. Even though he has regained full fitness, Cummins will have to carefully manage his workload as a hectic international period awaits him after the IPL, which could see Australia play up to 21 Test matches in 12 months.
Cummins had recently expressed his desire to play all three formats
Pat Cummins, despite being on the sidelines for more than nine months, had expressed his desire to play across all formats for Australia. “Still very keen to play all three formats and at the moment I think we can make it work. I love Test cricket.ย Hopefully I’m in a cadence where I can keep doing that for three, four, five years and don’t have to forgo Test cricket,” Cumminsย told the Business of Sport podcast in late March.
Mumbai Indians announce injury replacement
Meanwhile, in another development, Mumbai Indians have signed Krish Bhagat for the rest of the IPL 2026 season in place of Atharva Ankolekar. Bhagat is primarily aย right-arm pacer who can also contribute with the bat lower down the order. He has represented Punjab in seven first-class and nine List A matches so far. He was already with the team as a net bowler, with the team during the season.
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