Abhishek Sharma turns a new page, forges fire for Sunrisers

When a 17-year-old turned up for Delhi Daredevils, there was an early comparison with Yuvraj Singh. He bowled left-arm spin, he batted lower down the order and smacked the ball to all parts of the ground. When he struck the 19-ball 46 against RCB, the first ever ball that he faced was an exquisite drive over the mid-off region for a boundary.

Abhishek Sharma had announced himself in style. He was 17, he oozed style and later on, showed enough substance for the entire world to talk about him. In just three games, the 17-year-old all-rounder scored 63 runs, at a thumping strike-rate of 190.9, batting in the middle-order. 

And once you have made a name for yourself in the IPL, it is often very tough to live up to the same reputation. That affected the youngster, who in the seasons leading up to this, had only amassed 178 runs across the three editions after his debut.

The Punjab U-19 sensation, who was an integral part of several teams was still a hard-hitting lower-order batsman. The problem with that is the perception around the batter gets limited, he is viewed as a basher, and not necessarily as a batter who could play the long game. And the numbers did not help him either. 

So, the call, in essence, from all quarters of the world around him to not be part of SRH’s playing XI was quite rightful. There is very often a problem of balance, between trusting a player and trusting a player too far for too less. SRH were treading very dangerously on that water. 

Prior to this season, he had opened just twice, averaged 23 at a strike-rate of 176.9, with a high score of 33. And as a bowler too, he was hardly used, picking up just the seven wickets. As an all-rounder, maintaining a place in the playing XI is more than tricky and the ticking time bomb was always going to play a big role.

Would Sunrisers’ backing help Abhishek?

“I am pretty much lucky to have a team like SRH as they have been very supportive,” revealed the 21-year-old after the win against CSK. 

However, for season after season, representing Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the left-hander was smashing the bowlers for fun at the top of the order. Across 17 innings at the top, he scored 466 runs, averaging 31 while still maintaining a strike-rate of 139.9, scoring a boundary every fifth delivery. 67.8% of his runs came via boundaries and he, came with a reputation. 

So, when Sunrisers beat the bids from both Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans, for INR 6.5 crore, the expectations just grew multi-fold. This was a franchise that was filled with several options to open the innings – Washington Sundar, Aiden Markram, Rahul Tripathi and Priyam Garg. 

Add to that the skipper, Kane Williamson, there was always going to be some sort of pressure on the left-hander to get going. After all this, imagine scoring just 9 and 13 in the first two innings of the season, the calls for not utilizing him at the top of the order was always going to grow. 

But that is where the franchise’s trust made a huge difference. Against a Chennai Super Kings’ team which lacked firepower with the new ball, it was a perfect opportunity for the left-hander to hit out. Tom Moody, who has been with Sunrisers Hyderabad for some time now, answered a query to Abhishek’s place, saying “he should be backed”. 

“Abhishek was terrific,” said Williamson after the franchise won the encounter against CSK.

In 2018, had Chennai not trusted Shane Watson and backed him to the length, the IPL title might not have been theirs. In fact, there are many instances from the past of players being trusted to the length by the franchise. 

Abhishek’s name was just added to the list. He was not just trusted but also backed to make an impact, and his innings was a testament of what confidence does to an athlete. It didn’t matter if the player was a 36-year-old, or a 21-year-old, the ‘trust’ factor always makes a huge difference.

On a tough, tricky surface in DY Patil Stadium against a team that banks on playing well on these kinds of surfaces, it needed more than an innings and half from the 21-year-old. There was a stark difference between him and Kane Williamson on the day. Williamson was struggling, not just struggling, evidently too. 

Abhi-Shook the bowling attack with a blitz that will be remembered. 🔥

Take a bow, @IamAbhiSharma4. 🧡#CSKvSRH #OrangeArmy #ReadyToRise #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/Xswb4VoAat

— SunRisers Hyderabad (@SunRisers) April 9, 2022

The gulf of difference in the strike-rate too was noticeable. Abhishek struggled but every time he did struggle, there was a phase of prolonged hitting. If it was in his range, it disappeared, the name of the bowler hardly mattered. In a season where Sunrisers had lost their first two games, they wouldn’t have cared less for their batters to look and fear the big boys from Chennai. 

Another failure will definitely trigger the debate yet again, on whether he should open the innings for Sunrisers or not but the concern might just be at the other end, that the fans are failing to notice. 

Maybe he will be dropped later in the season or maybe it will be Rahul Tripathi opening the innings alongside him but the fact remains, trust always makes a big difference.