IPL 2026: India’s T20 World Cup Hero To Lead Sunrisers Hyderabad In Upcoming Edition

Hyderabad: With the uncertainty around the availability of Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, the franchise has reportedly identified India’s T20 World Cup hero Ishan Kishan as the skipper of the team.

According to a report by the Times of India (TOI), the franchise management has discussed the matters internally and have concluded Ishan Kishan as the most suitable player to take the leadership role in the team.

The Australian pacer has been away from the action since the Ashes played last year, where he played only one match. He also missed the T20 World Cup for the national side. Thus, he has been on the sidelines for the past eight months due to the lumbar stress back injury.

Kishan joined SRH for the IPL 2025 season for INR 11.25 Crore and racked up 354 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 152.58, which includes a hundred and a fifty. Overall, he has played 119 IPL matches for three franchises. In the tournament history, he has played 119 matches, scoring 2,998 runs in 112 innings with a strike rate of 137.64, with one hundred and 17 fifties.

Kishan will be entering the IPL 2026 on the back of a brilliant performance in the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. Earlier this year, he made it back into the Indian T20I side after Shubman Gill was dropped ahead of the New Zealand series.

Kishan then impressed in the series, scoring a century at home against New Zealand and secured his place in the World Cup playing XI. He was India’s highest second run-getter in the tournament, amassing 317 runs from nine innings with an average of 35.22 and a strike rate of 193. He smacked three fifties in the event, including one in the final.