Vettori: Captaincy will have positive effect on Kishan's batting and keeping

Kishan is leading SRH until Cummins is available to play in the second half of IPL 2026

The shorter the format, the more important do captaincy decisions become in-game, and with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) without Pat Cummins until the "second half" of IPL 2026, the franchise is not only missing one of the world's best seam bowlers but also one of the best white-ball captains.

But while he's not on the field, Cummins has been with the SRH squad in India and has been involved in major leadership decisions. And that, according to SRH head coach Daniel Vettori, has been a major factor in the franchise feeling comfortable with Ishan Kishan leading the side in Cummins' absence.

Speaking to the media in Kolkata ahead of SRH's second game of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Vettori said that Kishan finding himself as captain is a positive for the wicketkeeper-batter because, in his assessment, it brings more fire to his own game.Related'One of our poorer bowling performances' - SRH head coach Vettori

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"We're fortunate enough that Pat has been around the group and he's been able to have conversations with Ishan about his captaincy style," Vettori said. "But Ishan has been highly successful in his captaincy career so far. So whilst it can be slightly different, we don't look at [no Cummins on the field] as a negative at all [from the point of view of captaincy].

"As you saw by Ishan's performance in the first game, he loves leadership, he loves being out there and I think it can have a real positive effect on his batting and keeping. As he gets to understand the group and the dynamic, he's going to put his mark on it and I have no doubt that he will be a very effective leader for us."

Kishan has scored 532 runs in 257 balls in all T20Is since his India return in 2026. He also began the season with a 38-ball 80 in the IPL 2026 opener. It was the game's highest score, even if SRH were on the losing side.

"There's a very slim room for error [when bowling to Kishan] and his ability to hit both sides of the wicket, hit behind the wicket and then deal with the full ball aggressively means he puts pressure back on that bowler straight away," Vettori said. "There's no style of bowling that he's ineffective against, so you can't stifle him with spin. And pace bowling, he deals with exceptionally well.Pat Cummins is with the SRH squad in India•BCCI

"So straight away, when he walks out to the crease, he's got confidence and an understanding of his game that he can take it on. He is prepared to take a bowler on from ball one and that puts a lot of pressure.

"He has been around for a long time, even though he's so young, but he has a real confidence in his game and I think that's born out of the success [with Jharkhand] in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, being re-selected for India, and the success with India."

As for the game against KKR on Thursday, where both teams are looking to bounce back from defeats despite scoring in excess of 200 while batting first, Vettori said that there was no question of taking Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine - who both had forgettable opening games against Mumbai Indians amid a longer slump in form - lightly.

He also felt the pitch, which is the same as the New Zealand vs South Africa T20 World Cup semi-final, was grassier than usual and didn't expect as much turn, but instead some "hold off the pitch."

"I think there's an immense amount of respect around those two and what they've done for the franchise, what they've done for their country, so in no way will we be taking them lightly, even if they didn't have their best day of the last game," Vettori said. "They've proven themselves time and time again, particularly at this venue, so the battle against those two tomorrow will be one of the key aspects of the game."