Sunrisers Hyderabad have been navigating Pat Cummins’s absence since before the tournament even began, and while Ishan Kishan has led the side admirably and a pair of remarkable debutants have emerged to give their bowling genuine bite, the question of when their designated captain returns has never gone away.

Now there is genuinely encouraging news coming from the Pat Cummins camp that suggests the wait may almost be over, though nothing is confirmed yet and the next 24 hours will be crucial in determining exactly when SRH get their Australia captain back.

IPL 2026: Where things stand with SRH captain Pat Cummins

According to Cricbuzz, Pat Cummins is scheduled to undergo a fitness test on Wednesday back in Australia and there is an element of optimism within the SRH franchise that he will clear it. If he does pass the fitness assessment and receives the necessary NOC from Cricket Australia, he is expected to be back in Hyderabad on April 17.

SRH’s next home game is on Friday April 18, which would give him just enough time to link up with the squad and potentially be available for selection.

Before the season began Cummins had been transparent about his timeline, saying he had been bowling every third day and that the plan was to get him right by the middle of the tournament. “Hopefully if nothing goes wrong I’ll play the back half plus the final,” he had said. Everything since then has tracked broadly along those lines.

The Broader Cricket Australia Picture

The Cummins situation sits within a wider pattern of CA being extremely careful with their fast bowlers this IPL season. Mitchell Starc is yet to receive his NOC for Delhi Capitals. Cameron Green was given a delayed clearance to bowl for KKR.

Josh Hazlewood was a surprise absentee for RCB against MI on Sunday despite having played the previous game, with his workload clearly being managed carefully.

Cricket Australia’s caution is understandable given the volume of cricket ahead, 21 Tests in the coming year including a five-Test tour of India and the 2027 Ashes, but it has been a source of significant frustration for IPL franchises who have paid enormous sums for these players specifically to have them available to bowl.

A Cricket Australia spokesperson offered no update when contacted, saying only “no news”, but a source confirmed to Cricbuzz that the hope within the franchise is that Cummins clears the test and gets the NOC without any complications.

What Pat Cummins return would mean for Sunriser Hyderabad

The timing of Pat Cummins’s potential return could not be better for an SRH side that is showing signs of finding its feet.

On Monday against Rajasthan Royals, debutants Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain took four wickets each in a performance that gave the entire franchise a genuine lift and suggested the bowling depth runs deeper than anyone had anticipated.

Eshan Malinga has also been performing consistently. Adding Pat Cummins to that mix, one of the best fast bowlers in world cricket at his best, would transform SRH’s bowling attack from a work in progress into something genuinely formidable.

The batting with Head, Abhishek Sharma and Klaasen has never been the concern. If the bowling finally finds its level with Pat Cummins leading it, SRH could be a very different proposition in the second half of this tournament.