Redemption of Abhishek Sharma

 

A talent out shadowed

The young fellow made an attractive debut in IPL for Delhi Daredevils for INR 55 lakhs in 2018. While the likes of Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw, and others stole the headlines with the 2018 U-19 World Cup title for India, he came to notice by playing a few important knocks for the team in the tournament. Sunrisers Hyderabad then traded the player for Shikhar Dhawan, who went to Delhi. Abhishek has been a power hitter in the middle order. Before this edition, he has played 22 games since 2018. His highest score of 46, not out of 19 balls, came in his debut season only. He also bowled a few overs for SRH to scalp seven wickets. But he could not make it to the retention list of his team owing to his average performance.  

The new season brought bigger cheques and opportunities.

However, after being listed on a base price of INR 20 lakhs for this year's mega-auctions, he was picked back by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping INR 6.50 crore. The price went high due to the bidding war between Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings to grab the player, but SRH succeeded in making the final closing bid for the youngster.

With the season's commencement, he was announced as the opener for SRH alongside captain Kane Williamson. He was seen in middle-order until the previous season, while Jonny Bairstow used to open with David Warner.

"Abhishek was pretty much part of our initial plans. He was in and out of the side last season, but we want him to assume greater responsibility this time. We want him to open the batting alongside Kane. That will help us get a good left-hand, right-hand combination at the top," Muralitharan told Sportskeeda.

Great performance against the big guns

In the first two matches, Abhishek Sharma got dismissed for 9 and 13 scores, respectively. However, he made a terrific comeback by adding 89 for the first wicket with captain Kane Williamson against Chennai Super Kings. He smashes a match-winning half-century and extends his score to 75 off 50 balls. He was picked up as the player of the match for his brilliant knock to help the team win by eight wickets and record the first win of the season. 

When coach Tom Moody was questioned about Abhishek Sharma and his position to bat, he said, "We had recognised right at the beginning of the tournament, even at the auction, that Abhishek would be an important player for us at the top of the order. He has shown some great signs. He is an exciting young, talented player. And as we saw today, he delivered, and it's great for him early in the tournament that he has managed to get a significant score under his belt. And hopefully, this is the beginning of a few more big scores throughout the tournament."

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Abhishek Sharma will both hope that he keeps playing to replicate like these in the future and lead his team to victory in the tournament ahead.