Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday confirmed that Ishan Kishan will lead the franchise, while Abhishek Sharma will be his deputy in the upcoming IPL season until the full-time captain Pat Cummins returns from injury.“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 informed through a post on social media. TimesofIndia.com was the first to report that Kishan will lead the side in the absence of Cummins. Kishan has established himself as one of the most explosive wicketkeeper-batters in the IPL. Across 119 matches in the tournament, playing for three franchises, including Sunrisers Hyderabad, he has scored 2,998 runs from 112 innings at an average of 29.10 and a strike rate of 137.64. His tally includes one century, 17 half-centuries, 288 fours and 134 sixes, underlining his aggressive batting style. Behind the stumps, Kishan has also contributed with 59 catches and five stumpings. In the 2025 season, his first after being picked for Rs 11.25 crore in the auction, he scored 354 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 152.58, including a century and a fifty.Ishan’s stocks are on a bull run at the moment. The 27-year-old has had a brilliant T20 World Cup campaign, where he became the toast of the nation for his performances, initially as a top-order batter and then at No. 3 when Sanju Samson returned to the Playing XI. Kishan finished as India’s second-highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup with 317 runs in nine innings at an average of 35.22 and a strike rate above 193.
