Pat Cummins Returns to Australia for Back Injury Scan Amid IPL 2026 Campaign

Pat Cummins Leaves IPL 2026 Camp

Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has departed from the IPL 2026 camp to return to Australia for a scheduled scan on his back injury, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.

This scan is a pre-planned procedure that will be conducted under the guidance of Cricket Australia (CA). Cummins left India following SRH's recent match against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata on Thursday. He is anticipated to rejoin the team on April 17, pending CA's approval.

Cummins Discusses His Recovery Process

Cummins, who has been mostly sidelined since July of the previous year—except for a single Ashes Test in Adelaide—has indicated that he has started bowling in the nets and is progressively increasing his workload as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation strategy.

In a recent episode of the Business of Sport podcast, Cummins shared, "I'm still recovering from a back injury, but it's good. I'm back bowling in the nets." He acknowledged that while he will miss the early part of the IPL, he remains hopeful about returning to play soon. "The IPL is starting soon. I won't make the start of that, but it shouldn't be too long before I'm back out there playing," he stated.

SRH's Performance and Interim Captain

With Cummins absent, Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan has taken over as the captain for SRH during the 2026 season.

SRH began their IPL 2026 journey on a challenging note, suffering a six-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their opening match. However, they made a strong comeback in their second game, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 65 runs at Eden Gardens. SRH is set to face the Lucknow Super Giants in their third match of IPL 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on April 5.