Pat Cummins leaves Sunrisers Hyderabad camp, heads back to Australia for final scans, will join SRH on…

Pat Cummins has flown back to Australia for final scans on his injured back. He will join the SRH squad if deemed fit by Cricket Australia.

Published on: Apr 4, 2026, 16:00:12 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

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Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has flown back Down Under for the final scans on his injured back. The designated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) leader has already missed the opening two Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 matches; however, he was in India, training with the rest of the squad and building up his workload. Cummins has been out of action since July last year, with only one appearance in the Ashes in between.

Pat Cummins has flown back to Australia (ANI Pic Service)

According to ESPNcricinfo, Cummins will undergo a final scan of his injured back in Australia under Cricket Australia's supervision. The pacer left the SRH squad after the team's 65-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens.

Cummins is expected to join the Hyderabad squad on April 17 if he gets the due clearance from Cricket Australia. Earlier, the 32-year-old had said that if everything went to plan, then he would surely play the second half of the 19th edition of the IPL. In Cummins' absence, Ishan Kishan has been leading Sunrisers and the 2016 champions have so far won one and lost one.

Also Read: Dale Steyn sounds alarm on SRH bowling, says they ‘desperately need Pat Cummins back’

“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,” Cummins said on the Business of Sports podcast.

“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,” he added.

Cummins' workload

The third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval was Cummins' only competitive game since he first experienced some discomfort in his back last July. After missing the bulk of the five-match series against England, the pacer was hoping to play a key part in the T20 World Cup but was ruled out after what he described as a "minor setback" in his recovery.

SRH desperately need Cummins to recover and feature in the playing XI as the bowling looks very thin on paper. The franchise might have won against KKR, but one cannot deny that bowling is the team's weakest suit in the IPL 2026 season.

To make matters worse, Brydon Carse, the England speedster, is also injured, and hence Eshan Malinga and David Payne have been playing for Hyderabad as overseas pace options.

Sunrisers will next take on the Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday, April 5.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

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