Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered another major blow to their already weak bowling attack during IPL 2026. Head coach Daniel Vettori confirmed that English fast bowler Brydon Carse suffered a hand injury during a net session and is not available for the opening match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Without Carse and regular captain Pat Cummins, the Sunrisers’ bowling unit struggled at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, March 28. Royal Challengers Bangalore chased down the target of 202 runs in just 15.4 overs, exposing the serious weaknesses of Sunrisers’ pace attack in the tournament opener.
It was tough for him – Daniel Vettori provides Brydon Carse injury update
During the post-match press conference, Daniel Vettori revealed that Brydon Carse had suffered an injury while batting in the nets. The head coach said X-rays showed no fractures but severe swelling prevented the English all-rounder from playing against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Daniel Vettori said in the post-match press conference, “When he (Carsey) was batting, he got hit on his bowling hand in the nets, which hurt, but there was a lot of swelling and he tried to push for the game, but it was difficult for him to get hold of the ball.”
“He (Carse) is improving, so we are hopeful that he will be available for selection for Kolkata,” he said.
If Carsey recovers before the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Sunrisers Hyderabad management will have to rule out an overseas fast bowler. Either David Payne or Ishan Malinga will be dropped for the match to be held on April 2.
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal demolish Sunrisers Hyderabad
Royal Challengers Bangalore took advantage of the weak bowling attack of Sunrisers Hyderabad. After the early dismissal of Phil Salt, Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal put on a 101-run partnership off just 45 balls, giving the Bengaluru crowd the aggressive batting.
Devdutt Padikkal scored 61 runs in 26 balls, which included seven fours and four sixes. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 69 runs off 38 balls to help Royal Challengers Bangalore reach 203 for 4 and win by six wickets.
David Payne, Harsh Dubey, Ishan Malinga and Harshal Patel together gave 144 runs in just 11 overs. This poor bowling performance ruined the first batting efforts of Ishan Kishan and Aniket Verma, who helped Sunrisers Hyderabad reach 201 for 9.
Pat Cummins remains important for Sunrisers Hyderabad
The crushing defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore showed why Sunrisers Hyderabad needs the return of regular captain Pat Cummins as soon as possible. He adds experience to the pace attack that currently relies on homegrown options like Jaydev Unadkat, Shivam Mavi and out-of-form Harshal Patel.
Cummins has a strong Indian Premier League record of taking 34 wickets in 30 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is especially useful in death overs. His economy rate in that phase was 10.94 and he took 21 wickets in 51 matches.
This is better than the current options of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Jaydev Unadkat’s economy rate in the last overs is 11.47. Sunrisers Hyderabad needs the early return of Cummins to strengthen their bowling unit.
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