- Abhishek Sharma should continue to open for SRH, according to former Indian cricketer Zaheer Khan.
- Harry Brook should bat in the middle order.
- SRH’s off-field decisions may have contributed to their poor performance in the IPL.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has been struggling in the ongoing IPL 2023 despite being one of the best teams on paper. However, in their last match against Delhi Capitals, the Aiden Markram-led side made some changes to their batting unit, as Abhishek Sharma was sent out to open alongside Mayank Agarwal, and that eventually worked wonders as the young opener smashed 67 off 36 to give a perfect start to his team.
Talking about Abhishek Sharma’s impactful performance, former India cricketer Zaheer Khan stated that the 22-year-old should continue to open while Harry Brook, who scored a century against Kolkata Knight Riders earlier in the tournament, should bat in the middle order. Zaheer believes that Brook’s promotion to the top earlier created a lot of confusion in the batting unit and might have played a huge role in their series of defeats earlier in the tournament.
“He should continue batting at the top of the order even though (Harry) Brook has scored a hundred. IPL is such a tournament that you pay heavily if you make mistakes at the top of the order. A lot of planning goes into finalising these things even before the tournament starts,” Zaheer said while talking on JioCinema.
Zaheer also emphasized that the off-field decisions play a huge role in how a team performs in a tournament. He believes that something unrelated to cricket, such as how a team approaches games or the decisions they make, can have a significant impact on their performance in the IPL.
“They went back to the pair of Mayank Agarwal and Sharma to open the innings today and it paid off. Even today, I reiterate that SRH is a very good side on paper, but they are not producing the best results, and that has to do with something unrelated to cricket. How you approach games, the decisions you make are a big part of IPL,” Zaheer added.
Despite their win against Delhi Capitals, SRH still has a long way to go in the tournament. They currently have six points to their name after eight games, but they are ninth on the IPL Points Table. They will have to produce consistent performances in their upcoming matches to move up the table and secure a spot in the playoffs.
It should be noted that the SRH’s decision to send Abhishek Sharma to open the innings proved to be successful in their last match against Delhi Capitals. SRH will have to be consistent in their approach and decision-making to achieve success in the tournament.
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