Former Team India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has revealed that he does not believe that Pat Cummins should be given back the captaincy of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026, and that Ishan Kishan should continue as captain.
Pat Cummins had been absent from SRH’s opening matches due to workload management and injury-related reasons. Cummins is also Australia’s full-time captain in both Tests and ODIs and suffered an injury last year that limited him to just one Ashes Test earlier this year and ruled him out of the T20 World Cup entirely.
Ishan Kishan is a tactical leader: Sanjay Bangar
In Cummins’ absence, Ishan Kishan has been given the captaincy on an interim basis. With 4 wins in 7 matches, Ishan Kishan has taken SRH to third place in the points table. Bangar appreciated the way Kishan made changes in the bowling. He said Ishan Kishan was not nervous and took the right decisions.
Speaking to JioHotstar, he said: “Ishan Kishan as a leader is tactically very good in terms of how he uses his bowlers. He understands which bowlers to use against which batsmen. It is a clear marker of how well he controls the game. He doesn’t seem nervous, he is not in a hurry and he is making the right decisions on the field.”
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Sunrisers Hyderabad have had some issues with their bowling in IPL 2026. Despite having a three-match winning streak, SRH have had to deal with injuries and loss of form among their players.
SRH lost Jack Edwards to injury and had to deal with the unavailability of Pat Cummins. The franchise hired David Payne to replace Edwards, but he too was injured. Then SRH brought in Gerald Coetzee. Last week, SRH signed Dilshan Madushanka as a replacement for the injured Brydon Carse.
In the last three matches, SRH also had to deal with the loss of form of veterans like Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat. In the end, youngsters like Sakib Hussain and Harsh Dubey have raised their hands. When Cummins finally arrives, he will also take over the captaincy as he has done in both 2024 and 2025.
Pat Cummins has health problems: Sanjay Bangar
Bangar talked about the consistency a franchise can have by having just one captain throughout the season.
“The way he used his spinners against DC was impressive. All in all, I think even if Pat Cummins returns, Ishan should continue to captain SRH. Most of the time, having an Indian captain brings consistency,” he said.
Bangar concluded by highlighting Cummins’ injury history. “You can’t be sure how fit a bowler of Pat Cummins’ caliber will remain for the rest of the IPL, considering the problems he has been dealing with. Having Ishan continue with the leadership duties gives a lot of continuity to the players. That would be the way forward for Hyderabad.”
SRH next matches
Sunrisers Hyderabad are currently on a three-game winning streak. Their next match will be against Rajasthan Royals on April 25.
By the way, RR is the same team that SRH started this winning streak against. However, before this run, SRH had only won one match out of four.
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