Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are facing a bit of a headache with leadership roles ahead of the IPL 2026. Captain Pat Cummins is reportedly set to miss the start of the season as he recovers from a back injury. In his absence, the SRH are likely to look at Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan for the leadership roles.

Both Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan were part of India’s title-winning campaign at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Abhishek, the No. 1 batsman in the T20I rankings, has been a part of the Sunrisers setup since 2019 and boasts leadership experience with Punjab in domestic cricket.

Ishan famously led Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in December last year. His performances in the domestic T20 tournament reopened doors to international cricket. He played a key role in India’s success at home in the recent T20 World Cup and has now emerged as a contender to captain Hyderabad in Pat Cummins’ absence.

Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan arrived at Sunrisers Hyderabad last year and struggled to impress with the bat. However, according to a TOI report, the management, led by head coach Daniel Vettori, has decided to appoint the wicketkeeper batsman as stand-in captain and Abhishek as his deputy.

The 2016 IPL champions also boast leadership options in Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

SRH to face RCB in IPL 2026 opener

Pat Cummins famously led the SRH to the IPL 2024 final, but the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2025. They managed to retain the majority of the squad before the auction and boosted the squad by signing overseas all-rounders Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards.

The Sunrisers are set to face the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the opening match of the IPL 2026. They will host Lucknow Super Giants in their first home game of the season at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on April 5.

SRH will also play two away games, against KKR on April 2 and PBKS on April 11, in the first phase of the IPL 2026.

Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for IPL 2026: Pat Cummins (c), Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, R Smaran, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivang Kumar, Salil Arora, Krains Fuletra, Praful Hinge, Amit Kumar, Onkar Tarmale, Sakib Hussain, Shivam Mavi, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Kamindu Mendis, Brydon Carse, Eshan Malinga, Liam Livingstone, Jack Edwards.