IPL 2026 injury worries grow: Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood doubtful for opening games
India Today
Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins and RCB pacer Josh Hazlewood are doubtful for the opening games of IPL 2026. Both Australian quicks are still awaiting medical clearance.
The injury list ahead of Indian Premier League 2026 continues to grow, with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru emerging as the latest teams facing fitness concerns. Their Australian stars Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are reportedly set to miss the opening games of the season.
Cummins has been out of international cricket for a while now, having last played in December 2025 against England at the Adelaide Oval, where he picked up three wickets in each innings. The SRH captain also missed the T20 World Cup 2026 due to injury concerns and has been working his way back to full fitness.
Hazlewood has been on a similar path, with the Australian pacer also sidelined by injury in recent months. He last played competitive cricket in November 2025 for New South Wales and subsequently missed both the Ashes series and the T20 World Cup 2026.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, Cummins and Hazlewood could miss the opening few matches of IPL 2026 for SRH and RCB respectively. However, both players are expected to feature at some stage during the tournament if they regain full fitness in the coming weeks.
So far, there has been no official confirmation from either franchise regarding the availability of the two Australian pacers.
If Hazlewood misses the opening fixtures, New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy or Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Thushara could take on a bigger role in RCB’s pace attack during the early part of the season.
Iran's football federation is pushing to move its 2026 World Cup matches from the US to Mexico over safety fears, in a controversy drawing comparisons to Bangladesh's T20 World Cup crisis.
Afghanistan cricket stars Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi have strongly condemned reported Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul. The two players expressed grief and anger over civilian casualties after a hospital was reportedly struck during the attack.
Chennai Super Kings have appointed former England wicketkeeper-batter James Foster as their new fielding coach ahead of IPL 2026, adding an experienced coach to Stephen Fleming's support staff.
Liam Livingstone launched a blistering attack on England's team management, accusing Brendon McCullum and Rob Key of poor communication and a lack of support after being dropped from the white-ball setup.
The Indian Cricket Board is being called out for an extremely silly mistake at the Naman Awards 2026. During the ceremony, BCCI credited Shubman Gill as the captain who won the Champions Trophy, and not Rohit Sharma.
Sanju Samson said he is excited to share the CSK dressing room with MS Dhoni in IPL 2026, adding that the former India captain has always had a positive influence on him and will be a valuable source of learning.
IPL 2026: Harbhajan Singh believes that the Mumbai Indians need to find a way to bring out the best in Hardik Pandya should they stand a chance of getting back to winning titles.
Sunil Gavaskar has criticised SunRisers Leeds owners for signing Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed at The Hundred 2026 auction, arguing that Indian owners must not contribute to Pakistani government revenues.
Despite India's successful T20 World Cup title defence, no Indian men's cricketer was shortlisted for the ICC Men's Player of the Month award for February. But India have representation in the women's category, with pacer Arundhati Reddy nominated.
Was Gautam Gambhir behind the Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma? India head coach Gautam Gambhir has hinted at the possible reason while speaking in an event in Kolkata.
IPL 2026: Karnataka government has approved IPL matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium after an expert committee reviewed safety and preparedness measures at a meeting chaired by Home Minister G. Parameshwara.
Suryakumar Yadav says lifting the T20 World Cup 2026 trophy in Ahmedabad has finally put to rest the pain of the 2023 ODI World Cup final defeat at the same venue, the memory that haunted him most.
Chelsea have been fined $14.3 million and handed a suspended transfer ban after the Premier League found the club guilty of breaching financial regulations. Undisclosed payments, made between 2011 and 2018 have landed the club in trouble.