Travis Head shines in IPL 2025 with 67 off 31 balls, showcasing his relaxed approach and ability to dominate, alongside Abhishek Sharma, for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Mumbai: “This game’s brutal. Nothing’s ever guaranteed,” Travis Head said just before he kickstarted his IPL 2025 campaign with another turbocharged beginning – 67 off 31balls against Rajasthan Royals.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Travis Head celebrates after scoring a half-century during Indian Premier League 2025 (AFP)
Staying in touch with reality is something the South Australian has internalised. It’s one learning from his stop-start beginnings in international cricket; his career almost never took off (for five years from 2016) until it did, and how.
As we know, Head was the highest T20 run maker last year and his runs came more briskly than anyone else. “Prepare well. And hope it happens. If not, stay relaxed and know it’s not far round the corner,” he told the broadcasters.
That’s how Head broke it down for himself, to help him get over the insecurity of batting for his place. In the right headspace now, Head takes his chances, hits more and misses less. A lot of it is down to his growing belief in his ability to simplify the game.
“I think his laidback nature makes him so dangerous. The fact that he played a bit of international cricket and then was left out for a while, I think that makes him a better player because he understands the highs and the lows of international cricket and franchise cricket,” Aaron Finch, JioStar expert and Head’s first T20I captain told HT.
“In T20 cricket, you can’t have the type of personality who is so attached to every single result because it’s impossible to be ultra consistent. When you’re playing such a high-risk game and looking to strike above 200, you have to understand that you’re going to have bad days,” Finch said.
He added: “When you are attached, you start to tense up and change the way that you’re batting. I think that that’s one of the reasons why he’s so dominant in all forms of the game. He takes the good with the bad. And when it’s his day, he makes sure that he goes really big.”
Indian bowlers need no reminding of this fact. They have a drop-down list of being at the receiving end of Head’s successful template.
In the 2023 World Test Championship final, he made them pay, after Indian bowlers weren’t alert to try the short ball ploy early. In the 2023 World Cup final, Head had some luck against the new ball, before he was away. Twice in the recent Border-Gavaskar trophy, the left-hander scored Test hundreds as Indian bowlers couldn’t locate the perfect cramp-him–for-room territory. When Head is going after you, powered by his unique ability to attack any length, the margin for error is slim.
Not your classical elegant left-hander, Head fine tunes his technique enough to fuel his hitting game. Last year, Abhishek Sharma helped him along by attacking off spinners – brought in as a match-up that troubles Head – in the powerplay. At the start of the new season, when Rajasthan Royals introduced Maheesh Theekshana early, it was Head who cut the Sri Lankan past point and lofted him over his head to signal intent.
From last year’s IPL, Abhishek has raised his game against pace a few notches and Head’s legend has grown further. Travi-shek is one of the most feared opening pairs in the business and their blitz on Sunday was only a glimpse of what lies ahead.
“They’ve both got the type of game that once they get going, they continue to put their foot down and don’t let up. They score on both sides of the wicket,” said Finch. “Even though they’re both left-handers, they’ve got such an ability and contrasting styles that it’s almost like bowling to a left-and-right combination.”
Led by Head and Abhishek’s Powerplay dominance on batting friendly home pitches, Sunrisers Hyderabad have found their own version of bossing at home, a time-tested ploy of five-time winners Chennai Super Kings.
“As things stand, Travis Head can sit down for 20 overs as Impact Player and walk out to open in the batting innings. He’s living the absolute dream,” said Finch.
