Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek was still a key member of the side that won the 2018 ICC U19 World Cup in New Zealand. He appeared in every game of that tournament, contributed with his spin, and made a vital half-century against Bangladesh in the quarterfinal. At domestic level he represents Punjab, debuting in the Ranji Trophy before the World Cup and then playing in the 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy after returning home.

His IPL career started with the Delhi Daredevils, now known as Delhi Capitals, who signed him for INR 55 lakh in 2018. Handed a debut at 17 in a dead rubber after Delhi had dropped out of the play-off hunt, he struck 46 from 19 balls, including a four and two sixes in succession off Tim Southee. He featured in only two matches that year. When Sunrisers Hyderabad traded away Shikhar Dhawan, Abhishek was among the three players they asked for in return, and regular chances as an opener helped him develop, including one season in which he made 426 runs in 14 games.

The 2024 season was his breakthrough. Opening alongside Travis Head, he powered an SRH batting line-up that passed 200 many times and twice set a new highest IPL total, 277 and then 287. He finished the campaign with 484 runs at a strike-rate of 204.22.

Those performances earned him a place in India's T20I squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. He was out for a duck from four balls on debut but responded with a century in his next match. Some months afterwards he hit 135 against England at the Wankhede, an innings that underlined his range and his ability to succeed against strong opposition.