Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that Salil Arora, who hails from Punjab, has the same potential as Abhishek Sharma. He said the player has already impressed with his domestic performances and has put forward a strong case for an Abhishek Sharma-like role in the future.
Sunrisers Hyderabad has given the Indian team one of its modern-day superstars, and now the former India World Cup winner noticed that another SRH player has similar qualities to the SRH batsman.
Despite some good performances in the second half, Sunrisers missed the chance to make the playoffs. This year, in the absence of captain Pat Cummins, the Orange Army will be led by Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan with Abhishek Sharma acting as his deputy.
Irfan Pathan sees glimpse of Abhishek Sharma in this SRH young player
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that Abhishek Sharma, who was from Punjab, became a fearless white-ball striker. Now SRH’s new player Salil Arora is also one such talent.
“Salil Arora. He comes from the Punjab cricket system and has already shown strong performances, which is why he has made a name for himself in domestic cricket.
“Players like Abhishek Sharma, Naman Dheer and Ramandeep Singh have come from Punjab and Salil Arora also looks to be of the same level,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Pathan predicts how much of a positive impact Salil Arora’s presence can have on the SRH team
Salil Arora has shown his magic with the bat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26. The batsman scored 358 runs at an average of around 72 and striking around 200. Hence Pathan suggested him as a backup for other middle-order players in SRH.
Pathan said, “SRH have picked him up as a backup player for around ₹1.5 crore. So, if Nitish Kumar Reddy is not in form, or Aniket Verma is not performing well, he can step in as a backup option.”
He continued and said that Salil Arora, who was bought for a huge price of Rs 1.5 crore in his debut season, will put pressure on players like Reddy and Aniket in the middle order. Irfan Pathan said, “The good thing is that both the main players will also be under pressure to perform well because they know that there is a talented domestic player waiting in the team.”
Irfan Pathan impressed by SRH’s 75 lakh Indian pacer!
After choosing the batsmen, Pathan moved to the Sunrisers bowling deck. He suggested that former KKR fast bowler Shivam Mavi has improved massively and can be of great use to the Men in Orange.
“Another important player is Shivam Mavi. He has also paid full attention to his bowling action. Earlier, his body used to lean to one side or fall during deliveries, but now this problem has reduced, mainly due to better fitness, which was a big concern earlier,” he said.
Pathan further added, “Now, it seems his bowling is getting better. His pace is also consistently above 140 km/h, which used to be earlier, then dropped, but now looks stable again. So, the question is, can he grab his chance this season?”
In the absence of Pat Cummins, they will have to rely on several good Indian fast bowlers and Mavi is an experienced bowler, having played 32 IPL matches and also taken 30 wickets.
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