Action from the Sunrisers Hyderabad practice match© YT/SunrisersIPL
Abhishek Sharma may not have had the best of T20 World Cups but he has sent a massive warning to opposition teams ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. Playing in Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)’s pre-season practice match on Saturday, Abhishek hammered 94 runs off just 42 balls, top-scoring for SRH ‘A’, who posted 253/9 after batting 21 overs. South Africa star batter Heinrich Klaasen (49 off 31) and uncapped 23-year-old Indian powerhitter Salil Arora (47 off 16) also shone in the first innings.
Carnage ensued when Abhishek came out to bat. His 42-ball 94 follows up a swashbuckling 21-ball 52 in the T20 World Cup 2026 final, indicating that Abhishek could be about to enter his groove again.
Interestingly, Abhishek – the world’s No. 1-ranked T20I batter – also came out to bat for SRH ‘B’ in the second innings, but managed to make only 12 runs off four balls. 24-year-old pacer Praful Hinge took his wicket.
Salil Arora, who was bought by SRH for Rs 1.50 crore, in the IPL 2026 mini auction, also showed his class with a terrific 16-ball 47 for SRH ‘A’.
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The knock could help the uncapped wicket-keeper batter to play himself into contention for a spot in the playing XI by the time SRH’s first match comes round against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 28.
With the ball, it was veteran pacer Jaydev Unadkat who left his mark. The 34-year-old scalped five wickets in the first innings, but also conceded 48 runs.
In the SRH ‘B’ innings, it was the franchise’s stand-in captain Ishan Kishan‘s turn to fire big. He hammered 72 off just 25 balls. With Pat Cummins set to miss the first few games of the season at the very least, Kishan will shoulder the responsibility of captaining SRH in just his second season with the franchise.