Travis Head, the star opener for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), will not play in Monday’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) match. Notably, SRH wanted to end the rest of their season with a victory even though they had already been eliminated from the tournament. Nevertheless, on May 19, they will play the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

For those who don’t know, the ongoing military crisis between India and Pakistan caused the IPL to be suspended. Teams are getting ready for the cricket action, especially the forthcoming knockout stage of the competition, after a week off. Daniel Vettori, the head coach of SRH, provided some important details for his team before of the much anticipated match in Lucknow.

Vettori made headlines when he disclosed that Travis Head had COVID-19. Head will now reach India by Monday AM as a result. The medical team in Hyderabad will examine and evaluate him when he arrives. When the explosive Australian batter was infected is still unknown, though. As a precaution, his return to the country was postponed.

“Travis was delayed, but he will arrive tomorrow morning. He was unable to travel since he genuinely had COVID. “We’ll evaluate his condition after he gets in tomorrow morning,” Vettori stated at the Sunday pregame press conference.

Travis Head and Cummins available for remainder of IPL 2025

Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins and Head left for Australia after the cash-rich league was suspended for a week. Following their departure, it was unclear whether the duo would return to India to complete their commitments for the pending IPL 2025 season. Notably, Cummins is set to lead the Australian team in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa on 11 June in England. Hence, it was speculated that the pair might not return and would prefer to prepare for the mega ICC (International Cricket Council) event.

However, amid this news, SRH confirmed their availability for the remainder of the IPL season. Besides, the Hyderabad-based franchise are already out of contention for the playoffs and will play their last match of IPL 2025 on May 25. As of now, SRH have three matches left to play in the league. Apart from LSG, they will also face Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Quite contrastingly, Sunrisers Hyderabad will be looking to avoid finishing at the bottom of the IPL points table, while Lucknow Super Giants will aim to keep their slim playoff chances alive by winning their remaining three games.