India has never seen a top-order tornado like Abhishek Sharma.
Although he is an extremely aggressive dasher, he also has the versatility to blend in with India’s ranks.
No one else has altered T20 cricket as much as an uncapped Indian batsman. Even though he is only facing about 30 balls every innings, he is scoring so much more in the IPL than players like Sunil Narine, Phil Salt, Rohit Sharma, Faf du Plessis, and Rishabh Pant.
In 13 innings, Abhishek Sharma has scored 467 runs, yet not a single one has lasted more than 28 balls. Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo certifies that he is the first batsman to reach 400+ runs in a T20 league season without ever having to face 30 balls in an innings.
Abhishek doesn’t have a fear of failing, therefore he starts off strong and keeps going strong. Although they are aware that it’s a risky strategy, his team Sunrisers Hyderabad has granted him permission and role clarity to use this hyper-aggression. When Abhishek takes the first strike, it helps that Travis Head is at the opposite end of the field and that Pat Cummins, a competent batter, is positioned as low as No. 9 for the San Francisco Rampage.
Abhishek himself was taken aback by his IPL 2024 performance. “Whoa, what a surprise! Abhishek remarked, “I would never think [of] going to such a tournament and playing at such a strike rate,” following Head’s 166-ball rout of the Lucknow Super Giants earlier this month.
“I would say that I’m grateful to the [team] management for their belief in me. The batters were obviously aware of this, so I went there and had a good time. I believe that my pre-tournament hard work is paying off; it’s starting to show now. And a particular thank you to Brian {Lara}, Yuvi {Yuvraj Singh} paaji, and of course my dad—who was my first coach. They worked extremely hard on me, and I’m just trying to apply what they’ve taught me, and it’s working out great.”
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Abhishek had played a similar position at the top for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2023–24, India’s domestic T20 event. He hit 485 runs in ten innings at a strike rate of 192.46, which was the best among batters who had faced at least 120 balls in the competition. Abhishek should have felt more confident going into the IPL after his performance, which was crucial to Punjab winning the championship.
Prior to Travishek, SRH and Mayank Agarwal opened the batting together since they both respected his domestic form.
Originally, Abhishek was a left-arm fingerspinner with some order-breaking ability. But he has risen to the top because to his tremendous hitting improvement, and he doesn’t appear to have any weaknesses. He can handle all types of spin, even offspinners who try to take the ball away from him. He has a solid IPL average of 148.42 against pacers, indicating that he is a capable pace-hitter as well.
He has also combined those abilities with game awareness. In the league match against the Chennai Super Kings, Abhishek set up Mukesh Choudhary for 4, 0, 6, 0, 7nb, 6, 4 on a slow-moving Hyderabad pitch that would slow down even more. A left-hander who is slanting the ball into him is maximizing his scoring opportunities. All it took for Abhishek to turn the tide of the match was one over.
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