"Been a long time coming...": Pat Cummins hints at IPL return for SRH

Cummins has been cleared to return to the IPL 2026 after positive results from recent scans on his back, offering a timely boost to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as the tournament enters a crucial phase. The SRH's full-time captain had travelled back to Australia earlier this month for follow-up assessments on a lumbar stress injury that has limited his appearances since July last year, causing him to miss four out of five home Ashes Tests and the ICC T20 World Cup in its entirety.

So far, he has missed half the IPL season as well, with Ishan Kishan taking his place as the captain.

Taking to Instagram, Cummins posted pictures of him bowling in the nets, with caption, "Been a long time coming, stinging to get back into it tomorrow."

https://www.instagram.com/p/DXgpijhiWLq/?img_index=1

Despite Cummins' absence, SRH has been solid this tournament, having won four matches and lost three. They currently stand in the fourth spot in the points tally. While the pace duo of Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat did not do well in the initial few matches, the pace unit of Eshan Malinga (12 wickets), Sakib Hussain (six wickets) and Praful Hinge (five wickets) have come good, alongside crucial contributions from Harsh Dubey (eight wickets) and Shivang Kumar (five wickets) in the spin department.

Abhishek Sharma (323 runs in seven innings at an average of 53.83 and a strike rate of 215.33, including a century and two fifties), Heinrich Klaasen (320 runs in seven innings at an average of 53.33 and a strike rate of 153.11, including three fifties) and skipper Ishan (238 runs in seven innings at an average of 34.00 and a strike rate of 188.88) have been the leaders of SRH batting unit.

Since being roped in by Cummins as the captain in the 2024 season, he has taken 34 wickets in 30 matches for the franchise at an average of 29.88, with best figures of 3/19. He is also capable of playing some fiery cameos with the bat down the order. (ANI)