IPL’s emerging stars: Abhishek Sharma’s finally come into his own

Mumbai: One of the lasting memories of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 will be the astonishing run-making on show. Eight totals of over 250 runs, most sixes in a season (1131), most sixes in the powerplay (299), and as many as 13 games with 25 or more sixes – it’s been absolute mayhem. And even as it may have come as a surprise to some, one of the main acts of this run-fest has been young Abhishek Sharma.

The 23-year-old from Punjab has scored 401 runs in 12 innings at a jaw-dropping strike-rate of 205.64. He has hit the most number of sixes (35) and has the best strike rate among batters with 400 or more runs. In a tournament that has featured a number of established names at the top of the order, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener has held his own with some breathtaking strokeplay.

After leading India to the U-19 Asia Cup title in 2016 and being a part of the 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning squad, Sharma was picked up by Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in 2018 for Rs.55 lakh. He made his way to SRH the following year, but in his first four IPL seasons, he got to play just 22 games and scored 241 runs.

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It was in 2022 when the left-hander’s career took a significant step forward. The Sunrisers bid Rs.6.5 crore in the auction to retain him, and he repaid the faith with 426 runs that season. Next year, he had a relatively quiet IPL (226 runs) but delivered a stellar performance in domestic cricket. With 480 runs at a strike rate of over 180, which included two centuries and three half-centuries, he powered Punjab to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy.

And now, in IPL 2024, he has truly announced himself and shown that he can go toe to toe with the best in the world.

There’s no doubt that the Sunrisers have been the driving force behind the power-hitting revolution this season. They’ve hit the most sixes (146) overall and also the most (49) in the powerplay. In their second game, the 2016 champions smashed 277 against Mumbai Indians to set the tournament’s highest-ever total. A few weeks later, they broke the record again with 288 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. And at the centre of it all has been the opening pair of Sharma and Travis Head.

Head, who struck centuries for Australia in the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup finals last year, has scored 533 runs at a strike rate of 201.89 and continued to establish himself as one of the best all-format batters in the game. But what’s been just as impressive is the fact that Sharma has often matched him shot-for-shot.

Here are the standout knocks by Sharma: 23-ball 63 (MI), 12-ball 37 (CSK), 12-ball 46 (DC), 13-ball 31 (RCB) and 28-ball 75* (LSG). Against pace, the youngster has been brutal square of the wicket and also utilised his clean swing of the bat to strike boundaries down the ground. Against spin, he’s adept at using his feet to make bowlers err in length. His confidence hasn’t wavered and along with Head, he’s instilled a sense of fear among the opposition. Hyderabad’s last game against Lucknow Super Giants was particularly awe-inspiring as Sharma and Head (89* off 30) remained unbeaten to chase down a target of 166 in a mere 58 balls.

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“My partnership with Abhishek has been fantastic, he’s an exciting talent for Indian cricket,” said Head after the LSG win. “We complement each other so well. He’s so excited and very, very enjoyable to be around. He thinks about the game and has a lot of energy.”

Sharma said, “I never imagined I would bat with such a strike rate in this tournament. I would just like to thank the management for the way they have shown faith in me. The environment in the team has been clear for the batters, so I just go out there and enjoy myself. All the credit goes to him (Head) because the way he starts against any bowler gives me that confidence too. I think the hard work I put in before the tournament is showing a bit now. Special thanks to Yuri Paaji (Yuvraj Singh), Brian (Lara) and my father, who was my first coach. They put in a lot of hard work with me, I’m just trying to do whatever they taught me and it’s going really well.”

It was understandable that Sharma didn’t make it to India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. But going forward, as some of the senior players move on, it seems quite likely that he will be in the mix. Batting in the shortest format is getting more aggressive with each passing year. And going by the way he has led the onslaught this IPL season, he should be ready to meet that challenge.