Pat Cummins has been cleared to bowl without restrictions for Sunrisers Hyderabad, with the Australian captain set to return for the franchise against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on April 25.
Fresh scans on Wednesday confirmed that the back stress issue that kept the 32-year-old quick out of international action since August 2025 has resolved, paving the way for one of the most anticipated returns of the IPL 2026 season. Cummins played only one match across the past eight months before arriving back in India on Friday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Dan Vettori says the extended break has left Cummins in outstanding physical shape.
"His fitness has been exceptional because he's obviously been out of the game for an extended period of time so he's had that time to work on that fitness, a real block of work around strength and conditioning," Vettori said.
Cummins will resume the captaincy from Ishan Kishan, who has led Hyderabad in his absence. SRH sit fourth on the table with two wins from five matches and view their skipper's return as the lift they need to push into the playoff places.
The timing matters well beyond the IPL. With England's home Ashes tour, a series against West Indies and ICC events all on the horizon, Cummins is already thinking about his broader workload. He confirmed he is keen to keep playing across all three formats.
"Still very keen to play all three formats and at the moment I think we can make it work. I love Test cricket," Cummins said.
The captain's fitness block, spent largely at home during the Australian off-season, was pitched at restoring bowling loads rather than just ticking a rehab box. Vettori indicated there will be no kid-glove treatment when Cummins runs in at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
Sunrisers will also be monitoring conditions closely. Jaipur has produced high-scoring batting tracks in the opening weeks of the tournament, and a fit Cummins gives them a new-ball operator capable of attacking at both ends of the innings, alongside death-overs expertise the side has badly missed.
For Australia, the assurance that Cummins can carry a full bowling workload without flare-ups is arguably the most significant storyline. The fast bowler's back has been a closely watched area since his early career setbacks, and getting through the back end of an IPL campaign without restrictions would be a powerful endorsement of his conditioning block.
Rajasthan Royals, for their part, will be the first side to test the returning captain. Whether Cummins plays the full 20 overs of SRH's bowling allocation or is managed for shorter spells in his comeback match remains to be seen, but Vettori's comments suggest there will be no restrictions imposed from the medical staff.