IPL 2026, KKR vs SRH Today Match: Sunrisers Hyderabad are without regular captain Pat Cummins for their 2nd Indian Premier League 2026 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, April 2, 2026, as the Australian all-rounder continues to recover from injury.
Cummins is currently sidelined due to a lumbar stress back injury, which he sustained in July last year. Although the Australian fast bowler briefly returned to international cricket during the 2025-26 Ashes and played one Test, the injury worsened, forcing him out of action again. As a result, Cummins also missed the recent T20 World Cup 2026 and has yet to regain full match fitness.
The 31-year-old has since joined the SRH squad and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. He has not yet regained full match fitness and remains unavailable for selection in the early stages of the tournament. The franchise had earlier confirmed that Cummins would miss the opening matches of the season.
He was also absent from SRH’s opening fixture and was seen in the dugout with the coaching staff.
In Cummins’ absence, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan is leading Sunrisers Hyderabad as stand-in captain, while Abhishek Sharma serves as his deputy.
Speaking after the toss, Kishan said Cummins is progressing well in his recovery. “He should be ready as soon as possible, he makes a big difference, with the bat as well, keeping him in the team is such a plus point,” he said.
Cummins played an important role for Hyderabad last season, claiming 16 wickets with an economy rate of 9.06, and his absence leaves a significant gap in both leadership and bowling strength.
Meanwhile, KKR, led by Ajinkya Rahane, won the toss and opted to bowl first. Both teams are looking to register their first win of the season after losing their opening matches. KKR went down to Mumbai Indians by six wickets, while SRH suffered a similar defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
KKR vs SRH Playing XIs:
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, David Payne
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane(c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani
Impact Substitutes:
Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact Subs: Harshal Patel, Liam Livingstone, Eshan Malinga, R Smaran, Sakib Hussain
Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Finn Allen, Manish Pandey, Saurabh Dubey, Rovman Powell, Tejasvi Dahiya
