Indian left-handed star batsman Abhishek Sharma has been appointed as the new captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the first few matches of the upcoming IPL season. For now, not for the entire season, but for the first few matches, Indian youngsters will be seen in the lead role.
Abhishek Sharma made a very promising start to the 2026 season as he scored consecutive half-centuries in the series against New Zealand; However, he failed to continue his impact in his maiden ICC T20 World Cup.
Abhishek Sharma flopped badly for India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 as he got out for three consecutive ducks in the T20 World Cup group stage, that too against smaller teams like Netherlands and USA. He scored 141 runs with two half-centuries in eight matches in the competition. However, he contributed in the final of the competition when it mattered most for India.
Abhishek Sharma has been appointed as the new captain of SRH in IPL 2026
The left-handed batsman became a special find for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, where he along with Australian opener Travis Head formed an almost monstrous opening pair that gave Sunrisers fast and solid starts on many occasions.
That season saw him included in the Indian team, where he has been a devastating hitter, often defeating even the toughest opponents with his tremendous hitting ability. Despite a poor performance in the World Cup, he is about to enter a new chapter of his career with Sunrisers.
In the unavailability of captain Pat Cummins, Abhishek Sharma will lead the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the first few matches of the competition. This is an exciting new offering for the young boy from Punjab, who could potentially have a similar role in India in the near future.
Pat Cummins’ availability will be a big concern for SRH in IPL 2026
Sunrisers Hyderabad picked up a few new players in the mini-auction, possibly keeping in mind captain Pat Cummins’ recent struggle with fitness, which has also kept him out of major white-ball action for Australia. Since July 2025, Cummins’ only appearance was in the Ashes Test where Australia successfully defended their title against England.
After this he was again ruled out of the game due to a back injury. Cummins was out of cricket for almost 4 months before returning; However, his stay was not to exceed 4 days, as he also missed the crucial T20 World Cup campaign for his team.
He selected Australian all-rounder Jack Edwards and English bowling all-rounder Brydon Carse as two players who could act as replacements for Cummins. However, Edwards himself has been sidelined after the BBL final in 2026.
SRH management ignores Travis Head and Ishan Kishan for captaincy
SRH management and head coach Daniel Vettori chose Abhishek Sharma as the captain of the SRH team. However, the SRH team had more experienced players like Ishan Kishan, Travis Head and former South African T20 legend Heinrich Klaasen.
Head could have been captain in Pat Cummins’ absence; However, under his captaincy the Australian team lost the T20 World Cup match to Zimbabwe, and this proved to be perhaps his biggest demerit. However, Kishan has been in great form and also led Jharkhand to the SMAT title in the last edition as captain of the state team.
Despite all this, Indian cricket’s darling Abhishek Sharma has been given the luxury to lead SRH in the absence of Pat Cummins.
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