India, March 26 -- Pat Cummins on Wednesday addressed his availability for the upcoming 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), revealing that he is targeting a return in the second half of the tournament as he continues to recover from a lumbar stress injury.

Cummins has played just one competitive match since July last year, the third Ashes Test in December, as he continues to manage the back issue. He was initially expected to feature in the T20 World Cup but was eventually ruled out due to what was described as a "minor setback". The Australian skipper also made himself unavailable for the first half of the IPL season, with Sunrisers Hyderabad appointing Ishan Kishan as interim captain in his absence.

Cummins has since arriv...