Cummins heads back home for final scan on injured back

Pat Cummins, the designated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) captain who has been out of action since July last year with just one Ashes Test appearance in between, has left the team's camp at IPL 2026 and returned home to have a final scan on his injured back. It understands that the scan is a scheduled one, to be conducted with Cricket Australia (CA) overseeing it, and that Cummins left India at the end of SRH's last game, against Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata on Thursday. If CA grants his request, he should rejoin the team on April 17. This was to be expected, as Cummins had stated prior to IPL 2026 that "if nothing goes wrong, [I]ll play the back half [of the IPL] plus the finals [if SRH get there]." He had been bowling in the training sessions since linking up with the squad prior to their first game of the tournament, the season opener in Bengaluru against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 28. After it became clear that Cummins wouldn't be able to play in the early stages of IPL 2026, Ishan Kishan, who was made captain by SRH, will continue to lead the team. Since first experiencing symptoms in his back in July, Cummins only competed in the third Ashes Test in December. He had initially hoped to play in the T20 World Cup earlier this year but was ruled out after what he described as a "minor setback" in his recovery. Cummins had stated to the Business of Sports podcast, "I'm still recovering from a back injury, but it's good," about a week before departing Australia for India. I'm back at nets bowling. The IPL is starting soon. I won't be there at the beginning of that, but I should be back playing soon. "I'm back bowling. I'm bowling basically every third day at the moment. We have formulated a strategy to get me before the tournament's middle. In Cummins' absence, Eshan Malinga and David Payne have played as SRH's overseas fast bowlers so far. Their next - third - game is on Sunday afternoon against Lucknow Super Giants at home in Hyderabad.