Pat Cummins set to give IPL 2027 a miss? Who will take over Sunrisers Hyderabad's leadership if Australian opts out?

Sunrisers Hyderabad might not get the services of Pat Cummins in the next season of Indian Premier League (IPL) after the Australian captain is set to prioritise a heavy Test schedule and the 2027 ODI World Cup. The 33-year-old fast bowler first played in the IPL in 2014 and has earned $1.9 million a year as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last three editions of IPL.

Next year, though, Australia play four Tests in India in January and February, have a 150th anniversary Test against England in Melbourne in March, and go on a full Ashes tour before the ODI World Cup in southern Africa in October and November.

"Something has got to give at some stage next year and it's not going to be Test matches or an ODI World Cup," Cummins told the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday. "I will make a call a lot closer and work with the franchise to see what makes sense. Things can change. I've had a couple of injuries pop up, so I don't really want to lock in anything.

“The priorities for me are always the Test matches and that ODI World Cup. I dare say if I play all of India, I need some sort of break before a pretty gruelling Ashes series.” Cummins played only the Adelaide Ashes Test in the last home summer and skipped the T20 World Cup due to a back injury.

With his fellow fast-bowling stalwarts Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc also deep into their 30s, Cummins said consideration would be given to resting them for part of the home series against New Zealand around the New Year. "It's possible. I think we're fairly open-minded to anything, as we’ve seen over the last couple of years," Cummins added.

"I see a world where we're potentially winding some bowlers down, even say at the back end of an Indian series if they don't look like they're going to play, to give them an extra rest ahead of the Ashes. "It's going to be a big push the next 18 months or so, but I think we'll look back on it hopefully and see it as one of the more rewarding periods of our career."

Who will lead SRH if Pat Cummins opts out?

In case Cummins opts out of IPL 2027, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan will lead the franchise in his absence with Abhishek Sharma as the vice-captain. Although Cummins was in the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp from the start of IPL 2026, he didn't play the franchise's first seven games due to his fitness. On March 18, exactly 10 days before IPL 2026, Sunrisers Hyderabad took to social media to confirm Cummins' unavailability for first few games.

"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," the franchise had said. Kishan led the side and won four out of the first seven games before Cummins took over.

Sunrisers Hyderabad finished fourth in IPL 2026, after losing to Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator.