but brian lara

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Amongst young Indian batters, Abhishek Sharma has been in great striking form to be one of the key contributors in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s good run in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 currently. But Brian Lara, the franchise’s former head coach, wishes to see Abhishek play big knocks and even score the first century of the ongoing season.

Abhishek was named Player of the Tournament in Punjab’s winning the 2023/24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, amassing 485 runs in 10 innings at an average of 48.50 and strike-rate of 192.46. He also hit two centuries and three fifties, while slamming 35 fours and 39 sixes. So far in IPL 2024, Abhishek has continued in the same vein for SRH, making 161 runs in four innings at an average of 40.25 and strike-rate of 217.56, including hitting 12 fours and 15 sixes.

Two of those knocks -- a whirlwind 16-ball fifty against Mumbai Indians and a 12-ball 37 against Chennai Super Kings -- fetched him Player of the Match awards, where Abhishek acknowledged the role Lara had in his growth as a left-handed batter. “The base of his success so far has been due to his natural ability. He’s someone who has a huge amount of ability. But I am still slightly disappointed because I believe he’s had great starts and he needs to carry on,” he said.