Abhishek Sharma put his early struggles in the T20 World Cup 2026 behind him with a blistering knock in the Sunrisers Hyderabad clash as he smashed a quick-fire 94 to signal his return to form. The left-hander, who endured a mixed campaign at the World Cup, looked in full swing ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
The 25-year-old came on for SRH A in the warm-up match on Saturday and played his typical attacking brand of cricket, racing to 94 off just 42 balls before being dismissed by Brydon Cars. After the match, Ravichandran Ashwin commented on social media how Abhishek seemed to be building towards something bigger.
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“SRH ‘A’ have just completed their batting innings and scored 240+ in their practice match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium… Abhishek Sharma narrowly misses a ton to probably save himself for the main event…”
Abhishek’s knock was an outstanding performance in a high-scoring outing where Heinrich Klaasen contributed 49 off 31 balls while new recruit Salil Arora impressed with a brisk 47 off just 16 deliveries. Stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan added 18 as SRH A posted a massive total in excess of 240.
The innings served as a timely boost for Abhishek, who entered the T20 World Cup as the No. 1 T20I batsman. but at the start of the tournament he struggled due to illness and poor form.
HOW WAS ABHISHEK IN T20 WORLD CUP 2026?
Abhishek’s World Cup campaign has been a tale of two halves. After missing the group stage match due to illness, he returned to register three consecutive ducks, raising concerns about his form at a crucial stage.
However, the lefty bounced back when it mattered most. He finished the tournament with 141 runs in eight innings, including a decisive 52 off 21 balls in the final against New Zealand and a quick-fire 55 in the Super 8 stage against Zimbabwe.
These performances helped him finish the tournament on a high, although the overall numbers did not fully reflect his impact.
With IPL 2026 around the corner, Sunrisers Hyderabad will take faith in Abhishek’s return to form. They open their campaign against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium Ishan Kishan opted to lead in the absence of the injured Pat Cummins.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
21 March 2026 21:47 IST
