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SunRisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins has revealed his possible return date for IPL 2026 during a casual chat with a fan in Australia. The Australian right-arm speedster, who is the full-time captain of SunRisers Hyderabad, revealed that he will play a match against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, April 25, which will be held at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur.
What forced Pat Cummins to give up starting IPL 2026?
A hugely influential captain and bowler in all phases, Cummins has played just one game for Australia in recent times, which came during the Adelaide Test against England in the 2025-26 Ashes series. At the time, he was battling a back injury and has not fully recovered from it, which forced him out of Australia’s 2026 T20 World Cup and SunRisers Hyderabad’s assignment at the start of the 2026 IPL. In his conversations with a fan, the New South Welshman also confirmed that he will be flying back to India on Friday.
Pat Cummins responds to fans on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/zEW9bzBgtl
— ORANGE ARMY (@SUNRISERSU) April 15, 2026
Cummins had come to India but flew to Australia for a final check-up on his back injury. According to ESPN Cricinfo, the 32-year-old was only expected to return to India if Cricket Australia gave him the green signal, given the busy schedule for the men’s national team over the next 18 months or so.
How did SunRisers Hyderabad perform in IPL 2026?
Meanwhile, SunRisers began their 2026 IPL season with an almost one-sided defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chinnaswamy Stadium but bounced back to defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) convincingly in the following match. But the SunRisers lost to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).
However, the 2016 champions ended Rajasthan Royals’ unbeaten streak with a massive 57-run win in Hyderabad on Monday. Debutants Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain took four wickets each to announce their arrival in the IPL after stand-in captain Ishan Kishan scored a whirlwind 91. But the SunRisers will face Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) before facing the Royals again when Cummins is likely to return.
Also read: IPL 2026: MS Dhoni fit for SRH vs CSK match? Chennai Super Kings Legend’s Possible Return Date Announced
