India, April 25 -- Pat Cummins returned to IPL 2026 for his first game of the season after receiving clearance from Cricket Australia to resume bowling, and immediately reclaimed the captaincy from Ishan Kishan for the clash against Rajasthan Royals. It came as a major boost for Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had lacked an experienced leader in their pace attack, even though they managed to stay in the top four with four wins in seven matches under Kishan.

Cummins, who led SRH to the IPL final in 2024, had been sidelined for a significant period, missing most of The Ashes and the ICC T20 World Cup due to injury. His return against RR marked his comeback to competitive cricket after a lengthy layoff.

There had been considerable debate in the l...