Abhishek Sharma, the newly named vice-captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) ahead of the IPL 2026 season, will join Team India in the league after a disappointing performance in the 2026 T20 World Cup, despite Team India’s historic win by defeating New Zealand in the final in Ahmedabad. Despite uncertainty over the batsman’s form, former India fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji showed great confidence in the aggressive opener.
141 runs in eight innings at an average of 17.6 in the T20 World Cup 2026, which also included three consecutive ducks in the group stage. But he scored a stormy half-century in the final, which could be a sign of the end of the bad phase.
Lakshmipathy Balaji hopes to see Abhishek Sharma in his true colors
Former Indian fast bowler explains why Abhishek Sharma can make waves in the 2026 Indian Premier League. Balaji observed that Sharma, who is a disciple of Yuvraj Singh, is adept at taking advantage of the bowlers on both sides. The emerging opening batsman is not among the strongest batsmen in the world but still he manages to hit huge sixes due to his smooth and steady bat flow.
Balaji further explained that bowlers often move towards the off-stump area to trouble the batsmen. But Sharma has the knack of launching a counter-attack off the off, which often spoils the thought process of the bowlers.
Lakshmipathy Balaji said on Star Sports, “Yuvraj Singh’s guidance has helped him hit sixes. Abhishek Sharma is not a powerful batsman, but he still hits sixes with ease on both sides because of his effortless bat flow. He doesn’t have an intimidating presence, but still snatches the length straight from the bowler. His ability to reach the offside, which is a fast bowler’s favorite area, puts a lot of pressure on the bowlers.”
Subramaniam Badrinath urges Sharma to take care of his batting
While Balaji was praising Abhishek Sharma, another former Indian cricketer, Subramaniam Badrinath, urged the batsman to work on his batting against the spinners. In the 2026 World Cup, to get rid of Sharma early in the matches, they introduced spinners at the beginning of the innings.
Four of Abhishek’s seven dismissals in the World Cup were against spinners. Pakistan captain and spinner Salman Ali Aga, Netherlands spinner Aryan Dutt, West Indies’ Akeal Hosein, England spin bowling all-rounder Will Jacks and New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra were the spinners to dismiss the Indian opener in the 2026 T20 World Cup.
His high backlift is important: Former CSK batsman
The former CSK cricketer revealed that the high backlift, which helps Abhishek Sharma hit sixes, has been causing him trouble in recent times whenever he is up against the spinners.
“He is an intimidating player who bowlers think about all the time. But he has been tested in recent times against off-spin. However, if he passes that test, he will destroy any team. His high backlift is vital to his success in hitting sixes at will. But it will also reduce his control, which will leave him vulnerable to failure in the long run if he is out of form. Strategically, he needs to work on countering off-spinners ahead of the IPL. Will happen,” Badrinath said in the same show.
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