Hyderabad, April 4 Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins has returned to Australia for a final scan on his injured back by Cricket Australia's medical team, which will give clearance for his participation during the second phase of the ongoing Indian Premier League.
According to a report in ESPN Cricinfo: "Cummins, who has been out of action since July 2025, with just one Ashes Test appearance in between, has left the team's camp at IPL 2026 and returned home to have a final scan on his injured back."
"Cummins left India at the end of SRH's last game, against Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata on Thursday. He is expected to rejoin the squad on April 17 if cleared by CA," the report stated.
It must be mentioned that Cummins has been bowling at SRH nets, which is part of the Return to Play protocol.
Cummins and Cricket Australia have always maintained that the pacer will be available during the second half of the tournament. In his absence, Ishan Kishan has been entrusted with the responsibility of captaincy.
A week before leaving Australia for India, Cummins had told the Business of Sports podcast, "I'm still recovering from a back injury, but it's good. I'm back bowling in the nets.
"The IPL is starting soon. I won't make the start of that, but it shouldn't be too long before I'm back out there playing. I'm back bowling. I'm bowling basically every third day at the moment.
"We've mapped out a plan to get me right by (the) middle of the tournament."
Eshan Malinga and David Payne have been performing the duties of overseas pacers for SRH.
SRH will host Lucknow Super Giants at home on Sunday afternoon.