Abhishek Sharma, the opening batter of Sunrisers Hyderabad has been in prolific form so far in the Indian Premier League 2024. It has been his standout year in the T20 league and he has caught the attention of everybody with his striking ability and his six-hitting ability.
Abhishek is currently the second highest run scorer for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and is 13th amongst the highest run-getters in the IPL so far. He has scored a total of 288 runs in the 8 matches striking at a blistering 218.18. He is just 23-years old and is well and truly amongst the contenders to win the Emerging player of the season award.
“Abhishek is almost there but I don’t think he is ready for the World Cup right now,” India’s white ball legend Yuvraj Singh. His comments about the youngster from Punjab came ahead of Indian team selection for the World Cup, in June in the US and West Indies.
“For the World Cup, we have to take an experienced side. Obviously some guys have played for India. After the World Cup, he should be prepared to play for India. That is what he should focus on. Coming six months will be very important for Abhishek,” Yuvraj said.
Abhishek’s ability to strike the ball efficiently has been very impressive this season. He has helped his side to big powerplay scores striking big inside the first six. Abhishek has smashed more sixes than fours (26: 21) in the eight games he has played.
“He has the ability to play big shots, the big sixes which he has been hitting are very good, but I think he has to learn to take singles and know how to rotate strike. He has to learn play out the bowlers who are bowling well and target other bowlers. I think work has to be done on that aspect,” Yuvraj said.
Yuvraj says Abhishek has a good opportunity to learn from Australian star Travis Head, his opener at SRH, particularly the art of converting good starts into big knocks. “He is definitely getting a lot of confidence from Travis Head. Travis is a world class player right now. He got a hundred in the World Cup final, he is a big match player. Abhishek has the opportunity to learn how to convert a good start into a big knock. That is what he has to learn from him.
Yuvraj has played a big role in shaping up of Abhishek Sharma. He has been his mentor for sometime now has devoted a considerable amount of time to fine-tune Abhishek’s batting, particularly his technique. Yuvraj’s mantra has been that the youngsters should have the belief that ‘I can play bowlers in international cricket.’
