Cheteshwar Pujara lauded the opening pair of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, who have consistently helped Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) thrive in the batting department. They will have to play a key role for the Orange Army, as they look to have a strong season. The 2016 champions finished sixth last season, winning only six out of their 14 games.
Pujara compared the aggressive opening pair to that of Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, who used to instil fear in the hearts of opposition bowlers when they played together at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, the former India batter opined that Abhishek and Head are more destructive than the Kohli-Gayle duo.
“In the last couple of seasons, what we have seen from the openers of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head, I can certainly say they are one of the most destructive opening pairs in IPL history. Both are batters who know how to attack from ball one. SRH has consistently crossed the 250-run mark in the last couple of seasons thanks to them,” Pujara said while speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Out of the Park’.
“No other team in the IPL has done that consistently. That is only because of the two openers. Smashing the ball all over the park and doing it on a regular basis is what makes them special. When we talk about aggressive opening pairs in the IPL, the pair of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli comes to mind. But this duo of Head and Abhishek is even more destructive. No bowler wants to run in and bowl against an opening pair like Abhishek and Head,” he added.
When they play away matches, they fail to maintain their destructive batting intent: Pujara
While pointing out Hyderabad’s concerns, Pujara said that they are a formidable batting line-up at home, but fail to replicate that positive intent during away matches.
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“SRH are a very destructive side and score a lot of runs when they play at home in Hyderabad. But away from home, their record is very poor. When they play away matches, they fail to maintain their destructive batting intent. That is because all the teams know that SRH rely on their batting power to set big totals. Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen are their main batters. Once they get dismissed, SRH struggle to get going. That is where the opposition teams take advantage and prevent them from putting up big totals. That is something they will have to work on,” Pujara concluded.
SRH begin their campaign in IPL 2026 on March 28, as they face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
