With Head for company, the left-hander has formed a potent partnership at the top of the order.
Travis Head is arguably the most in-form batter in the world at the moment and being his opening partner can be easy, yet challenging. The Australian’s belligerent approach can lift the pressure off his partner, but at the same time, it would be easy to be overshadowed by such a player.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma celebrates the team’s victory against Lucknow Super Giants (ANI)
Then, it is to young Abhishek Sharma’s credit that he has managed to make his presence felt in Sunrisers Hyderabad colours, and in some style. The 23-year-old from Punjab has matched the irrepressible Head stroke-for-stroke in the ongoing IPL to make their opening partnership one of the most feared ones going around.
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On Wednesday, in their game against Lucknow Super Giants, the unequalled dash was on display again. At his dazzling best, Abhishek smashed a match-winning unbeaten 75 off just 28 balls and combined with Head (89 runs off 30 balls) to script another batting blitz as SRH completed the 166-run chase in just 9.4 overs to crush LSG by 10 wickets.
The run of good form has perhaps come a bit too late for Sharma to vault himself into India’s World Cup squad but it has marked him out as the next batter to watch out from the Indian talent pool. Picked up by SRH at IPL 2022 auction, for a hefty price tag of ₹6.5 Crore, 2024 has turned out to be his breakthrough season.
He has amassed 401 runs at a mind-boggling strike-rate of 205.64. But even more than the runs, it is the freedom with which he is playing that has been most impressive. In IPL 2024, he has hit the highest numbers of sixes – 35. An all-round game makes him unstoppable; he plays shots square of the wicket and straight equally well.
The IPL show has come after a solid display for Punjab in the national T20 championship, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he powered his state side to their maiden title with 485 runs, with two hundreds and three half-centuries while striking at over 180.
Being from the same batch as Shubman Gill which won the 2018 U-19 World Cup, Abhishek’s career has taken a while to take off. However, he is now closer to realising his potential.
So, what is clicking for him this season? First of all, any batter can consider himself to be fortunate to be trained by Yuvraj Singh, one of India’s greatest white-ball cricketers. Abhishek has certainly benefitted from Yuvraj’s guidance.
“I think the hard work I put in before the tournament is showing now, thanks to Yuvi Paaji, Brian Lara as well and my father, who is my first coach,” he said in his post-match interview with the official broadcaster after the SRH game.
Secondly, his positive approach is paying off. Asked by a commentator to talk about his fearless approach and what had changed this season, he said: “I think this approach was something I took on during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I feel when I play this way, look at the ball, and react, my shots come off better and the bowlers come under pressure. I always thought if I play in the IPL, I’ll try to maintain this. Our support staff and Pat (Cummins), the way they think, I have never seen anyone else think like that. They’re like, ‘Go out there and express yourself. Play as aggressively as you can, we’ll back you.’ I think that matters a lot,” Abhishek said.
His opening partnership with Head has become the talk of the tournament. To be coached in the nets is one thing and to learn from a champion player in real time during a match is priceless. Th
“Whenever I and Head go out to bat, we don’t look at the pitch. If you put the bowler under pressure on the first couple of balls you will find that the bowler gets defensive, so we look to attack more (at the start),” said Abhishek.
