IPL 2026: With the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to start on March 28, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and their fearless opening batter, Abhishek Sharma, have come under the spotlight. After a lightning rise in the last two years, the 25-year-old is stepping into the 2026 season with the heavy responsibility of being the worlds top-ranked T20I batter.
Yet, with high rankings come soaring expectations. On JioStar’s ‘IPL Today Live’, Indian cricket great Anil Kumble gave a masterclass in dissecting the potential of the youngster, showering him with commendation but at the same time delivering a reality check.
The “Sehwag” Comparison
Ex-India skipper Anil Kumble made the biggest comparison before the season started by equating Abhishek’s powerful batting style with that of the great Virender Sehwag. Kumble mentioned that similar to Sehwag, Abhishek is always looking to play dominant strokes against every ball, a quality that makes him a bowlers worst nightmare but can also pose a problem for the team’s consistency.
“I would relate him to someone like Virender Sehwag, because he would look to smash every ball. When he moved from Test cricket to one-day cricket and then to T20 cricket, he realised that he had to pace his innings slightly differently. But Virender Sehwag would still go at a 140–150 strike-rate. So, that’s something Abhishek Sharma needs to start thinking about, saying, ‘I’ve been scoring at 200 strike-rate, expectations are on me, should I now go at a strike rate of 300?’ No, you just have to be normal. You have to play a number of balls. If Abhishek Sharma bats 20 balls in an innings, we know he will be close to that 50 mark. We saw that with Sanju Samson, not getting out in the 40s or 50s, but making it count by going deeper, getting to that 85-90 mark. That’s what you need in the T20 format. Maybe that’s the kind of maturity you will see in Abhishek Sharma this season, which SRH will be hoping for,” he added.
Kumble pointed out that just like Sehwag figured out he had to slightly change the way he paced his innings when he switched from one format to another, Abhishek also has to figure out what is his normal. He advised the SRH star not to get obsessed with pushing his already mind-boggling 200 strike-rate to 300 but to focus on sticking at the crease for a longer time. Kumble thought that if Abhishek can switch from quick 40s to match-winning 80s or 90s just like the progress made by Sanju Samson, he will be able to upgrade himself from a “good” player to a “great” one.
Defeating the “Off-Spin” Bug
One of the technical issues raised was Abhishek’s well-known problem against off-spin, which is the one weakness that was exposed during the World Cup. Even though in the final he got a very important half-century against the turning ball, Kumble thinks that’s what will really make him successful is “controlling the mind” about the things to avoid doing.
“I think Abhishek Sharma has all the capabilities of becoming a great player. If you look at his short international career, he is already the number one T20 international player. He dominates bowlers and puts them under pressure, but with that kind of intimidating style of batting, it’s difficult to maintain consistency, especially from a team’s perspective. That’s something India managed well with Abhishek, because otherwise it could have been a bit of a disaster. There were other batters who stepped up, and you need that kind of team for him to flourish. That’s why he’s enjoyed playing for SRH, where he has the freedom to bat freely. One thing he will have adjusted now is his issue against off-spin. In the World Cup, he either got out to off-spinners or had to play them out, which he managed in the final and got that fifty. If you want to become a great player and a consistent one, what’s critical is not just what you can do, but what you should not do, and controlling that in your mind will be the key”, Kumble further added.
