Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins praised Rajasthan Royals youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as his “new favourite player” after his blistering century, while reflecting on bowling challenges, his comeback, and his team’s strong all-round performance in the match.
Published Date – 26 April 2026, 11:16 AM
Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins called batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals as his “new favourite player”.
Cummins, speaking at the post-match conference after defeating Royals for whom Vaibhav scored a scintillating 37-ball 103, said: ““I think he’s my new favourite player. He hits the ball so hard, it’s great to watch. It’s good fun,” he said at the post-match press conference.
The Australian captain who took over the reins of Sunrisers from Ishan Kishan for this match said: ““You have to be right on the money as a bowler. If you are not, it’s going a long way. It’s impressive. He has had a great start to his career, and yeah, I like the way he plays. Takes the game on.”
On his own comeback, Cummins said there were initial uncertainties. “Really happy with the win. You are never quite sure how it is going to come out in the first game. Preparations were good.”
Reflecting on the challenges of bowlers in T-20 format, Cummins quipped: ““Ah, I do not know. We need to start working on our batting.”
Lauding his team’s depth, Cummins said the young bowlers and stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan, who led in the first seven games, had been awesome and Ishan led them beautifully.
““They have been awesome. Ishan led them beautifully… the young guys have been awesome,” he said.
Cummins also praised his batting unit: “We got off to a flyer in the powerplay and then it was just 10 runs per over. Abhishek, Ishan and these guys scored runs pretty quickly. We have got a very calm and confident group.”
