One of the biggest talking points leading up to the start of IPL 2026 was the selection of captain in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins of Sunrisers Hyderabad. SRH announced Ishan Kishan as the stand-in captain, dropping Abhishek Sharma and the decision did not go down well with a section of fans and even cricket experts. Now, Abhishek’s mentor, former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh, has said that it is disappointing for any player who has given his ‘heart and soul’ to the franchise ‘for years’, to miss out on leading the team. “It’s disappointing. I love Ishan Kishan. I’ve seen his growth in Indian cricket, his comeback,” Yuvraj Singh said on the SportsTech podcast.
“Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, performed for seven years playing for a franchise, gave his heart and soul to the franchise and even captained the state team, but not captaincy, vice-captaincy. With what mindset he plays franchise cricket now – with a bit of frustration.” However, Yuvraj Singh opined that this is something that Abhishek should take as motivation and try to do better than what he is doing now. “If this has happened to me, I have to be clear, ‘Listen, it has happened, I am disappointed’. I also spoke to Abhishek and told him that we will keep this disappointment aside and I will support my captain and I will try to do better, because something has hurt me, now I will push harder, to do better. That should be your motivation,” said Yuvraj. Although the reason for taking the cushion over Abhishek has been officially discussed by SRH, the general impression is that Ishan, who returned to the Indian team after two years and scored a magnificent 317 runs in the World Cup, led his state team Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – from a century in India’s premier domestic T20 tournament to five in the final of the tournament. go with – was the best choice for stop gap management. Further explaining Kishan’s selection as captain by SRH, Yuvraj looked back on his Indian career and the time when MS Dhoni was made India’s captain in 2007 despite the presence of senior players. “For example, when I was in the Indian team, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag were seniors, I was the vice-captain, but MS Dhoni comes from nowhere and becomes the captain. Whatever the reasons… Franchise cricket will not determine whether you captain India or not.
Poll
Do you think Ishan Kishan is ready to captain in IPL?
You see Shubman Gul. Because everyone felt that he was the hardest worker, the most sincere about the game, he thought about cricket differently, and the selectors felt that this man should captain India. Maybe that’s how Dhoni was made the captain. And if one is destined to captain, to do great things for India, then so be it,” said Yuvraj. Cummins, who led SRH in 2024 and 2025, is recovering from a back injury, and though he has been included in the SRH squad, he is not yet available for selection. The injury ruled him out of the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Australian, though, gave his stamp of approval on Ishan’s elevation, saying, “Ishan has had a really successful captaincy with his local team over the last year or so…’.
