Why did Pat Cummins miss RCB vs SRH opening match in IPL 2026?
(Courtesy : BCCI/IPL)
Ishan Kishan is leading SRH against RCB in Pat Cummins’ absence.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are locking horns in the opening game of the Indian Premier League 2026, which got underway on March 28 at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Defending champions RCB are led by Rajat Patidar in the IPL 2026 and will aim to defend their title. In the tournament opener, RCB won the toss and opted to field first.
Notably, Pat Cummins is not part of SRH’s playing XI in the clash, and Ishan Kishan is leading the team. The right-arm pacer joined the SRH camp ahead of the tournament and began his training. Despite his arrival in India ahead of the tournament, he was absent from the opening clash against RCB.
Why is Pat Cummins absent from SRH’s playing XI vs RCB?
Notably, Cummins is recovering from a lumbar stress back injury. He sustained this injury in July last year. The Australian pacer made a brief comeback last year in the 2025-26 Ashes, where he played one match.
He was ruled out as his injury resurfaced. The 32-year-old was also ruled out of Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. Last season, Cummins clinched 16 wickets in 14 games at an average of 28.13 and an economy of 9.06.
Ahead of IPL 2026, Sunrisers clarified that Cummins will miss the initial games. They also appointed Ishan Kishan as the interim captain and Abhishek Sharma as his deputy. Cummins is expected to play in the second half of the tournament and take the reins of the side once he regains his fitness.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma.
Why is Pat Cummins not part of SRH’s playing XI vs RCB?
Cummins is absent from the match as he is recovering from a back injury.
Who is captaining SRH in the clash against RCB in IPL 2026?
Ishan Kishan is captaining SRH in the encounter.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.