Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain Pat Cummins has flown back to Australia for a final medical scan on his persistent back injury. The Australian pacer missed out on the T20 World Cup due to a lumbar bone stress which has also ruled him out of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
Cummins had briefly joined the SRH camp for light training but has now travelled back home for a final scan which should provide a clearer return window. The 32-year-old is expected to join back with the squad on April 17 if Cricket Australia gives him the green light to return to action.
Prior to IPL 2026, Cummins had said that he expects to be available for the second half of the tournament, speaking on the Business of Sports podcast the Aussie quick had said, "I'm still recovering from a back injury, but it's good. I'm back bowling in the nets. The IPL is starting soon. I won't make the start of that, but it shouldn't be too long before I'm back out there playing.
"I'm back bowling. I'm bowling basically every third day at the moment. We've mapped out a plan to get me right by [the] middle of the tournament."
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Ishan Kishan has been leading SRH in Cummins' absence. SRH were beaten by defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening fixture, despite scoring 201/9 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
However, the side bounced back with a strong performance in their first home game of the season, scoring 226/8 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens to seal a dominant 65-run victory.
Should Cummins be cleared to return to action, it would provide a welcome boost for the 2016 IPL champions who are currently relying on Eshan Malinga and David Payne as their overseas pace bowling options.
The third Ashes Test in December has been Cummins' only competitive outing since picking up the injury in July last year. He had initially hoped to return in time for the recently concluded T20 World Cup, but was ruled out after facing a minor setback in his recovery process.
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