Pat Cummins Back in Nets, Targets IPL 2026 Comeback After Injury

The Australian fast bowler posted a story on Instagram with a photo of himself in a Sunrisers Hyderabad jersey and wrote a caption, "Good to be back", on Thursday morning.

Earlier on Wednesday, while speaking on a Business of Sport podcast, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, Cummins said he has resumed bowling in the nets and is gradually building up his workload as part of a structured rehabilitation plan.

"I'm still recovering from a back injury, but it's good. I'm back bowling in the nets," he said, according to the report.

The fast bowler acknowledged that he will miss the initial phase of the IPL but remains optimistic about making a timely comeback.

"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 added.

Cummins further revealed that he is currently bowling every third day as part of a carefully monitored schedule designed to ensure a safe return to competitive cricket.

"We've mapped out a plan to get me right by [the] middle of the tournament, so hopefully, if nothing goes wrong, [I'll] play the back half plus the finals," he stated.

Cummins played one Test match against England during the Ashes series last year due to a back stress injury. The right-arm speedster also missed the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

In place of Cummins, the Hyderabad-based franchise has confirmed that India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will be the stand-in skipper for the 2026 season.

Ishan Kishan, Salil Arora, Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen, Ravichandran Smaran, Aniket Verma, Abhishek Sharma, Brydon Carse, Harsh Dubey, Krains Fuletra, Liam Livingstone, Kamindu Mendis, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi, Shivang Kumar, Jack Edwards, Amit Kumar, Praful Hinge, Eshan Malinga, David Payne, Sakib Hussain, Onkar Tarmale, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, David Payne and Pat Cummins.

- ANI