Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Pat Cummins has made his views public on the experienced Indian keeper-batter for his leadership skills in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. In an interview with NDTV, he showered praise on Ishan Kishan’s captaincy in IPL 2026, who led SRH during the Australians’ absence.
Pat Cummins lauds Ishan Kishan’s captaincy skills as he led SRH in his absence! 🧡🗣️#IPL2026 #SRH #Sportskeeda pic.twitter.com/Rz6WVi4aNB
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) May 21, 2026
Cummins’ comments came ahead of SRH’s last league match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 22 in Hyderabad. They posted a mammoth 255-run total and eventually won the game by 55 runs. Although the Hyderabad-based franchise also had 18 points as the RCB and the Gujarat Titans, they finished third and missed out on the Qualifier 1 spot. Let’s shed light on Ishan Kishan’s form and whether he could be the prime contender as SRH 2027 captain.
How Did Ishan Kishan’s Bold Decisions Turn Things Around for SRH?
The Ishan Kishan-led Sunrisers Hyderabad had a disappointing start to their IPL 2026 season, as RCB sealed the 202-run target in less than 16 overs. The experienced campaigners like Jaydev Unadkat and Harshal Patel failed to put the brakes on the opposition.
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Thereafter, Unadkat’s three-wicket haul played a key role in SRH’s 65-run victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, he fizzled out in the next two games, while Patel failed to take even a single wicket and had an expensive economy. As a result, the side lost both games and had a win-loss record of 1-3 in the first four games.
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Kishan took a shocking decision to drop both Unadkat and Patel from the XI against the Rajasthan Royals at a time when they needed experience in the bowling lineup to secure crucial wins. He brought in young right-arm pacers, Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, into the lineup, which paid immediate dividends.
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Hinge and Hussain went on to pick four wickets each to help SRH defend their 216-run total and win by 57 runs. Alongside them, Eshan Malinga also impressed with his pace and wicket-taking abilities.
The Skip’s Form
In a major success of Ishan Kishan’s captaincy in IPL 2026, he followed the same template as the Sunrisers continued their winning momentum against the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals. Pat Cummins took over the leadership role at a perfect time, when the team combinations were already set, and departments were clicking well together. During his first game as skipper against the Royals, SRH chased down a 229-run total easily.
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Ahead of the RCB game, Cummins lavished praise on Kishan’s leadership skills. Although the 33-year-old revealed they had a few more options, he, along with the team management, went ahead with the keeper as the stand-in captain due to his success in the domestic circuit and his camaraderie with other players. Notably, Kishan led the Jharkhand side to their maiden title victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26 edition, while also topping the batting charts.
“We had a few good options. He (Kishan) has had a great domestic season as captain. I got asked a question (on stand-in captaincy), and I said ‘Oh, Ishan would be great, the boys love him’. He was awesome. I let him do his thing. I didn’t get too involved, but I was there if he needed me. He knows how to captain well, so I stayed out of his way,” Cummins told NDTV.
Captaincy Brought the Best Out of Ishan Kishan
Ishan Kishan led the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first seven games of the 2026 season. The franchise managed to win four of those games, which laid a strong foundation for them en route to their playoff qualification.
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However, the captaincy pressure didn’t affect Kishan, as he kicked off the season against RCB in style. He slammed 80 off 38 balls to boost SRH’s total to 201 when some of the key batters failed to provide significant contributions. Ishan Kishan’s form helped him to amass 91 off 44 balls in a confidence-boosting win against the Royals.
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As a captain, the southpaw garnered 238 runs at an average of 39.67 at an explosive strike rate of 188.89. He backed his instincts and prevailed over the bowlers to help the side recover well from early losses.
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Kishan has carried SRH’s batting in recent games as well, with his knocks of 70 & 79 against CSK and RCB. He finished the league stage with 569 runs in 14 games at an average of 40.64, with a strike rate of 178.36 and six fifties.
SRH 2027 Captain Is Likely Locked
Looking at Ishan Kishan’s captaincy in IPL 2026, the team management might have found an able replacement for Pat Cummins. As per reports, Cummins is expected to miss most of the 2027 season due to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) and the Ashes. BGT will take place from January to March, and the Ashes will likely begin in June, leaving Cummins with a two or three-month window for workload management.
Kishan could be announced as the SRH 2027 captain early next year, after Cummins’ unavailability is confirmed. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan’s form might help the Sunrisers grab their second IPL title in the 2026 season. They won the title in the 2016 season and ended up as the runner-ups in the 2018 and 2024 seasons.
