Pat Cummins Flies Home from IPL 2026: SRH Captain to Miss More Matches for Back Injury Scans in Australia

New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins has left his side in the middle of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 and flown back to Australia for a final medical scan on his persistent back injury.

The Australian pacer has not played a single match since the Ashes series at home against England. He also missed the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where Australia exited for the first time from the group stage.

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, Cummins flew back to Australia right after SRH’s thrilling win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, April 2, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This scan was already planned and will be done under the supervision of Cricket Australia (CA).

Australia captain Cummins, who has already missed the opening two matches for the team, will be absent for two more matches as he is expected to join the group on April 17 after clearing the test. Ishan Kishan, who was appointed captain by SRH once it became clear that Cummins wouldn’t be able to take the field in the initial stages of IPL 2026, will continue to lead the team.

Under Kishan’s leadership, the 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lost the first match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 28 by six wickets after a poor bowling display.

However, the team bounced back in style in the next match as they beat three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 65 runs. With this win, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are currently placed at sixth position in the points table with two points in two games and a net run rate of +0.469. IANS

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