India, April 23 -- Three losses in the first four games had Sunrisers Hyderabad languishing in the bottom half of the table, and the question was inevitable: when will Pat Cummins return? Still recovering from a back injury, Cummins - who led SRH to the IPL 2024 final - missed the opening half of the 2026 season, and with the bowling faltering, his absence became even more pronounced.

Yet, the narrative flipped dramatically after April 13. Three consecutive wins, driven by a marked improvement in the bowling unit, saw the management place faith in relatively unfancied names like Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain and Eshan Malinga.

By the halfway mark, SRH had surged to third on the table, and suddenly, Cummins' absence was no longer a concern...