Australian captain Pat Cummins has confirmed that he will play in the upcoming IPL 2026 season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad but will miss the MLC in 2026. The major announcement came after Cummins was ruled out of the opening fixtures of the ICC T20 World Cup.
Australia have been struggling with several injury blows ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, and one of the major concerns has been the uncertainty over Pat Cummins' return to the game in a full-fledged way.
Cummins last played a full series for Australia back in July 2025 against the West Indies; he has been ruled out and has not returned for a single white-ball game in the season. Cummins also sidelined himself for the majority of the Ashes series with just one appearance in Adelaide.
Pat Cummins confirms IPL move; MLC fate sealed
The Australian speedster's ability would surely have been a concern for his national side; however, his franchise sides are also heavily dependent on him for multiple roles. Teams like the San Francisco Unicorns in the MLC and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL have handed him the captaincy of these teams.
Pat Cummins has now relieved his IPL franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad, with a confirmation of his participation in the upcoming season, but, on the contrary, has also delivered a massive blow to the Unicorns by confirming his withdrawal from the upcoming MLC season.
SRH's desperation with Australian players has been such that they have offered insane paychecks to two of the current best Australian players, Travis Head and Pat Cummins, to opt out of international cricket and play franchise cricket for the Sunrisers franchise around the globe.
Pat Cummins confirmed he will play IPL this season but not Major League Cricket. https://t.co/6ISwpmSpb2
— Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) January 20, 2026
Will Pat Cummins play in the ICC T20 World Cup?
Yesterday, Chairman of Selectors George Bailey announced in a press release that Pat Cummins has been ruled out for participation in the first few matches of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup and can only be available towards the latter half of the tournament.
He clearly stated that Cummins, who has been recovering from a serious injury for more than half a year, is yet to complete his rehab totally and hence will not feature in at least the first three to four games for Australia. Also, he, alongside Josh Hazlewood and Tim David, has been ruled out of the Pakistan T20Is.
While the Australian selector sounded positive about Tim David and Josh Hazlewood's return for the ICC T20 World Cup, his uncertainty has been distinct while speaking about the World Cup-winning captain. Cummins' return for Australia remains under severe doubt.
SRH Captains' IPL Stats
The Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins was named the captain of the side in 2024 after he won the IPL 2023 with the Australian team in India. In two seasons, he led the SRH to a runners-up position in 2024 and then finished short of the knockouts in 2025.
Cummins is a very significant part of the SRH squad, as they heavily depend on the Australian to bolster their seam attack. Though they have players like Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, and the experienced Jaydev Unadkat, Cummins seems irreplaceable.
However, the Sunrisers have kept their backup plans ready this time, with Brydon Carse and Jack Edwards already in the team. In 72 appearances in the IPL, Cummins has managed to score 612 runs off his bat and picked 79 wickets. Two of his best seasons with the ball came in the last two seasons after he moved to the Sunrisers camp.
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