India wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan was on Wednesday named the stand-in SunRisers Hyderabad captain ahead of the forthcoming IPL 2026 season.
Kishan will take over the reins for a brief period with regular captain Pat Cummins still recovering from an injury after having previously missed out on the T20 World Cup. Besides Kishan, opener Abhishek Sharma was also promoted as the vice-captain of the side, the franchise confirmed.
“Pat Cummins will miss a few games while recovering from injury. Until he recovers, Ishan Kishan will be the Captain and Abhishek Sharma will be the Vice-Captain,” an SRH statement read.
Kishan has been on a hot streak since powering Jharkhand to their maiden domestic title in December 2025. Under Kishan’s leadership, Jharkhand clinced the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, with the dashing southpaw emerging as the highest run-getter of the season, aggregating 517 runs in 10 innings. He was soon backed for a return to the national colours after three years, eclipsing Shubman Gill to make the cut for India’s T20 World Cup squad the same month.
Kishan has emerged as the standout T20I batter of the 2026 calendar year thus far, leading the charts with 532 runs in only 13 innings and rising to a career-best world no. 2 ranking in the format, only behind his India and SRH teammate, Abhishek. Playing a crucial hand in India’s home T20 World Cup win earlier this month, Kishan hauled 317 runs and finished as the team’s second-highest run-getter in the tournament.
Kishan joined SRH ahead of the IPL 2025 season after being snapped up at Rs 14.5 crore. He relised a dream start to his stint in Hyderabad, blasting a 45-ball hundred against Rajasthan Royals on his franchise debut. His form, however, tapered off soon after, finishing the edition with 354 runs in 13 innings.